The Supreme Court has directed the House of Representatives to defend the constitutionality of its ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, giving lawmakers ten non-extendible days from receipt of notice to file their comment.
The order, released Tuesday, covers consolidated petitions submitted by Duterte and a separate group of lawyers headed by Atty. Israelito Torreon, both of which sought a Temporary Restraining Order against the House justice committee’s continued conduct of the case. SC spokesperson Camille Ting confirmed no TRO was issued, stating plainly: “Yes, no TRO.”
The high court’s directive stops short of giving due course to either petition, but signals that it will not act on the TRO requests until the House has had an opportunity to respond.
Central to both petitions is the argument that the justice panel, chaired by Rep. Gerville Reyes-Luistro, has overstepped its constitutional boundaries. Duterte’s petition contends that the Saballa and Cabrera complaints breach Article XI Section 3(5) of the Constitution, which bars more than one impeachment proceeding from being initiated against the same official within a one-year period. She further argues that the committee’s conduct of what Luistro herself described as a “mini-trial” usurps a function the Constitution assigns exclusively to the Senate.
The Torreon group focused its challenge on the committee’s March 25 approval of broad subpoenas covering bank records, National Bureau of Investigation materials, and affidavits — actions the lawyers characterized as a “fishing expedition” well beyond the panel’s constitutionally defined screening role.
Torreon drew a distinction between the petition’s intent and any appearance of protecting the vice president from scrutiny. “This petition is not about shielding the vice president from accountability,” he said. “It is about ensuring that accountability remains constitutional. Impeachment is a sacred process, not a political free-for-all.”
