Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference, February 7, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Vice President Sara Duterte has filed the second legal challenge against her impeachment at the Supreme Court, it confirmed on Wednesday.  

Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting said the high court received Duterte's petition for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injuction on Tuesday. It was not discussed during the en banc session the same day, she said.

In her petition, Duterte questioned the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint that was eventually transmitted by the House of Representatives.

Duterte stressed that the first three impeachment complaints were not transmitted by House Secretary General Reginal Velasco to House Speaker Martin Romualdez. But on February 5, 2025, the fourth impeachment complaint signed by 215 congressmen was endorsed by the House to the Senate.

Supreme Court to Senate: Comment on petition for ‘immediate’ Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Duterte noted that under Section 3, Article XI of the Constitution, “No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”

“By doing so, respondent House of Representatives deliberately circumvented and violated the One-Year Bar, and ran roughshod over and made a mockery of the procedures under the Constitution and the House Rules on Impeachment, not only compromising the integrity of the impeachment proceedings, but demonstrating that all of these is nothing more than a political maneuver,” Duterte said in the petition.

She cited previous cases settled by the Supreme Court, in which impeachment proceedings were deemed “initiated” upon the filing of the complaint and initial action of Congress on the complaint. 

“The Fourth Impeachment Complaint is prohibited by the One-Year Bar as respondent House of Representatives already took initial action by deliberately freezing the First Three Impeachment Complaints; respondent Senate should be enjoined from acting on the Fourth Impeachment Complaint,” Duterte said.

Duterte added that the act of “freezing” the complaints to avoid the application of the one-year bar is the very act that called for its application.

“In this case, respondent House of Representatives already performed an intervening act after the filing of the First Three Impeachment Complaints and before their transmittal to the House Committee on Justice, specifically, the deliberate and calculated freezing and withholding thereof,” she said.

Duterte noted in the petition new reports that Velasco publicly revealed that several members of the House requested him not to refer any of the first three complaints.

She said the freezing of the first three complaints by the House through Velasco was tantamount to grave abuse of discretion. 

Duterte thus asked the Supreme Court to set aside the fourth impeachment complaint and declare that the one year bar to be applicable from the filing of the first impeachment complaint, December 2, 2024.

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'DELAY, DESPERATION'

House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list on Wednesday called Duterte's going to the Supreme Court a sign of fear and desperation.

"Just months ago, she declared she welcomed the impeachment complaint. Now, she's pulling every trick in the book to stop it from moving forward. If she truly had nothing to hide, why the sudden fear? Her hypocrisy is staggering," Acidre said.

He added the vice president "has every reason to be scared" since House prosecutors are "prepared to lay out damning evidence against her."

Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares, meanwhile, acknowledged people's right to go to the Supreme Court, but called the petitions an attempt to delay the impeachment trial.

"But we're asking the Senate, huwag niyo i-delay. Unless restrained kayo ng korte, meron kayong obligasyon na ituloy ang impeachment trial," he said.

(We're asking the Senate not to delay this. Unless there the court restrains you, you have an obligation to proceed with the trial.)

He added he disagrees that impeachment proceedings are initiated by the mere filing. 

"Mali yun. Ang sabi ng Supreme Court, the impeachment complaint is only initiated if it was referred to the Justice Committee. Eh hindi na-refer sa Justice Committee any complaint," he said.

(That's incorrect. What the Supreme Court said is an impeachment complaint is only initiated is it was referred to the Justice Committee, and no complaint was.)

SENATE URGED ANEW TO PROMPTLY TACKLE IMPEACHMENT

Senate President Chiz Escudero answers questions from the media during a press conference at a restaurant in Quezon City on February 19, 2025. Escudero confirmed that preparations are underway, laying the groundwork for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. However, he maintains that there is no trial while Congress is on break. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN NewsBayan Muna on Wednesday once again called on the Senate to immediately convene an impeachment court and speed up the trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares made the appeal to the upper chamber as he submitted a position paper to the Senate on Wednesday.

He explained that the position paper is a "formal and official submission" of the group.

"We're pressing the issue sa Senate. Hindi pwedeng ganito. Kasi public funds. Lahat naman tayo involved, natamaan ng mawawalang public funds eh," Colmenares said.

"It's a legitimate concern of the people and the Senate. Legitimate din na i-press namin ang Senate dito. We're hoping mabasa ng ibang Senador at baka naman magamit nila ito in considering na maghold na nga ng impeachment trial, with or without a call from the President of the Republic," he added.

Colmenares said the position paper explains the basis of the group's call to the Senate to hold the trial "forthwith" as what is stated in the 1987 Constitution.

"Dapat mag-hold ng impeachment trial forthwith sa ilalim ng Constitution. Pwedeng kaagad-agad, pwedeng after election kung gusto nila. Pero hindi pwede yung four, five months later… Nananawagan na ang Presidente ay mag-call ng Special session," he said.

Colmenares pointed out that Senate President Francis can already issue "preparatory orders" despite the impeachment court not convening yet.

Escudero, for his part, welcomed the petitions filed at the High Court.

"Marahil providential na hindi kami natuloy sa trial dahil nag-recess kami para lahat ng mga bagay na ito ay maidulog na sa Korte Suprema," said Escudero. "May sapat na panahon ng Korte Suprema para resolbahan at sagutin ang lahat ng mga issueng ito bago pa man mag-convene ang impeachment court."

The Senate President said that unless stopped by the Supreme Court, the Senate will continue the trial.

"Again, the Senate will perform its duty and function under the Constitution unless there is  TRO, a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction issued by the Supreme Court. Absent that, we will continue with our duty regardless of the pendency of any case thus filed as of now or that may be filed in the future," he explained.

COLMENARES: SENATE HAS TIME

Colmenares believes the Senate has time to convene as an impeachment court and finish the trial, citing previous experience as a public prosecutor.

"Estrada was about 20 days? Nagconvene agad yung trial. Merceditas Gutierrez was about one month and a half. Max na yung one month and a half. Kay Justice Corona was about three weeks, four weeks. So ibig kong sabihin, ang forthwith pwede naman one month or one month and a half. Pero huwag naman five months. Hindi na forthwith yan pag five months yung delay. And anong reason for delay? Kasi ang ibig sabihin ng forthwith, without undue delay," he said.

"May oras eh. As long as they focus on one impeachment ground and one or two acts, ginawa na namin yan nung public prosecutors kami sa [Renato] Corona impeachment. Ginawa rin namin yan kay Merceditas Gutierrez. So wala kaming makitang dahilan para sabihin nila walang oras kasi yun ang sinasabi ng ibang senador eh. May oras eh," he said.

The former lawmaker said the impeachment court does not need five months to study the case against the Vice President.

"You only need one ground to convict. Hanapin nila yung pinakamalakas na kaso… At yun na madali nalang nila ma-dispose. Even before June 30 tapos na ito. Kung gustuhin lang nila na mag-convene ng trial ngayon," Colmenares added.

"Probably yung P125 million and yung threat niya to assassinate the President and everybody else. Yung dalawang act na yun klaro na yun. I don't see any reason bakit hindi yun lang ang impeachment case. Hindi na tatagal yun kung yun lang dalawang acts ang i-try nila sa impeachment trial," he said.

Colmenares reiterated his earlier statement that Congress can convene for a special session, citing the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last November 2023.

POLITICS, ELECTIONS

Duterte also noted in her petition that election and politics played a major role in the filing of impeachment complaints against her.

“Unfortunately, this political stratagem was done at the expense of constitutional standards that respondents, as public officers, are mandated to observe, with the ultimate goal of having the petitioner perpetually disqualified from running for any national elective office in the future,” Duterte said.

The petition was signed by Duterte’s counsels Philip Sigfrid Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa II, Sheila Sison, Roberto Batungbacal, Lucas Carpio and the Vice President’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

On Tuesday, a group of lawyers supporting Duterte filed a separate petition to toss the impeachment and prevent the Senate from proceeding with a trial, citing the lack of time devoted to its evaluation in the House of Representatives, where it was introduced and passed the same day.

Batangas rep explains why House opted for 4th complaint to impeach VP Sara Duterte

Duterte is facing a Senate trial on charges of "violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes". Among the crimes outlined is an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

She has insisted that her remark to have instructed a man to kill Marcos Jr. were she to be killed first was taken out of context. — With a report from Agence France-Presse