But House prosecutor insists no reason to issue TRO vs. trial

Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the Supreme Court to review the impeachment complaint against her and bar the Senate from acting on it.

In a petition for certiorari and prohibition filed Tuesday but made public only yesterday, the Vice President said the fourth complaint violated the Constitutional one-year bar on such proceedings.

The first three impeachment complaints against Duterte were all filed in December, while the fourth one was filed on February 5.

Earlier, a group of lawyers allied with Duterte also filed a similar petition before the High Court, arguing that the impeachment case was “procedurally defective, constitutionally infirm, and jurisdictionally void.”

Israelito Torreon, chief legal counsel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ of detained pastor Apollo Quiboloy, led the group seeking to challenge the legality of the impeachment proceedings.

However, a House impeachment prosecutor said there is no reason for the Supreme Court to order a halt to the impeachment proceedings.

“It is our humble submission that there is no sufficient basis for the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order regarding the impeachment complaint,” impeachment prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said.

“The verification (of the fourth impeachment) which they are questioning, it was followed word for word as written in the rules. So it is our humble opinion there’s nothing wrong with the verification. The Constitution gave authority to the Congress to promulgate its own rules. And in as far as the complaint is concerned, the verification, as written in the rules of the 19th Congress of the Philippines, was followed strictly,” she added.

House leaders also dismissed the Vice President’s petition as “a desperate and baseless legal maneuver aimed at evading accountability.”

“They are so scared that they want to stop the impeachment process. The allegations on corruption seem to be true especially if the bank records can be seen,” Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said.

“VP Duterte’s petition is nothing more than a desperate attempt to evade accountability,” he added.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez said the House followed due process, and that Duterte’s petition sets a dangerous precedent of judicial overreach into a purely constitutional process.

“The House will not be deterred by legal theatrics. We will continue to uphold our constitutional mandate and ensure that the impeachment process proceeds fairly and transparently,” Suarez said.

The seven Articles of Impeachment against Duterte include conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez; malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents; bribery and corruption in the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as Education Secretary; and unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), with her wealth reportedly increasing fourfold from 2007 to 2017.

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “VP Sara Duterte petitions SC to void House impeachment.”