MINDANAWON lawyers filed on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, a petition urging the Supreme Court to direct the Senate to cease and desist from conducting impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The petition for certiorari also seeks to declare the Articles of Impeachment submitted by the House of Representatives (HoR) to the Senate null and void.
The petitioners, which include lawyers Israelito Torreon, the legal counsel of detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, and former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chief Martin Delgra III, among others, said the Articles of Impeachment submitted by the HoR “failed to meet constitutional requirements on verification and proper initiation of impeachment proceedings.
They said the HoR also failed to accord due process to Duterte after it did not consider any of the first three impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President.
“The Constitution, specifically Article 11, Section 3 thereof mandates that upon receipt of the impeachment complaint, the same should be included in the House in the order of business within 10 session days… And thereafter, the Speaker should have referred it to the Committee on Justice within three days and these are mandatory provisions which were not followed by the House of Representatives,” he added.
Three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December on the basis of the alleged misuse of funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education from 2022 to 2024, as well as her kill remark against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
However, it was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over 200 house lawmakers and was transmitted to the Senate on the same day.
It all happened on the last day before the Congress went on a four-month break in preparation for the upcoming 2025 national and local polls.
The Senate adjourned its session without discussing the matter.
Senate President Francis Escudero said the impeachment trial against Duterte “cannot be done legally” while the Congress is on break.
Last week, lawyer Catalino Generillo Jr. filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to compel the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and start a trial against Duterte, citing a provision in the Constitution mandating the Senate to “immediately constitute” the Articles of Impeachment verified and submitted by the House of Representatives and “forthwith proceed” with a trial. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)