The legal team of Vice President Sara Duterte said Thursday, Jan. 29, that efforts to remove her from office have effectively ended following the Supreme Court’s refusal to revisit its earlier ruling on the case.
In a statement, the defense acknowledged the resolution from the Supreme Court of the Philippines denying the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives, which had sought to overturn the Court’s decision striking down the impeachment complaint.
According to Duterte’s camp, the High Court’s action affirms the boundaries set by the Constitution on how impeachment proceedings may be pursued. The team described the ruling as one that “definitively lays down clear and authoritative guidance on the constitutional limits and proper treatment of impeachment proceedings.”
“With these issues settled by the Court, the matter is now closed,” the statement read.
The Vice President’s lawyers added that, “We should then move on to address the nation’s other pressing concerns.”
The impeachment effort was initiated by members of the House in February 2025, citing allegations that included corruption, an alleged plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., involvement in extrajudicial killings, and acts seen as encouraging insurrection and public disorder.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court invalidated the Articles of Impeachment, ruling that the filing violated the Constitution’s one-year bar on impeachment proceedings and failed to meet due process requirements guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.
