The legal team of Vice President Sara Duterte has formally filed its opposition to the House of Representatives’ move asking the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse its earlier ruling that junked the impeachment case against her.
Atty. Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s lawyers, confirmed on Tuesday, August 19, that they submitted their comment on Monday, stressing that they will refrain from further statements out of respect for the judicial process. “We confirm that we have formally filed our Comment/Opposition to the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives before the Honorable Supreme Court,” Poa said in a message to the media. “In deference to the sub judice rule and out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be granting media interviews or issuing further statements at this time.”
As reported by Manila Bulletin, the SC previously declared the impeachment case unconstitutional, citing the one-year bar rule under the Constitution and Duterte’s right to due process. However, the Court clarified that the dismissal did not clear her of the allegations and that a fresh impeachment case may be filed starting February 6 next year.
The House later filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing its exclusive constitutional duty to initiate impeachment proceedings should be upheld, while the Senate voted 19-4-1 to archive the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.
On February 5, over 200 lawmakers signed the Articles of Impeachment accusing Duterte of betrayal of public trust, graft, corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes. Aside from the impeachment, she is also facing separate complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman.
