A House impeachment prosecutor said the chamber would soon file a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court (SC) in a bid to revive the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, which the high court earlier declared unconstitutional.
“We maintain our commitment to uphold accountability,” said Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, one of the House’s impeachment prosecutors. “We hope the Supreme Court will still be enlightened about the principle of separation of powers.”
The SC previously ruled that the impeachment complaint violated the Constitution’s one-year bar on filing multiple complaints against the same official. But lawmakers behind the case argued that the fourth complaint — signed by at least one-third of House members — was validly transmitted and took precedence over the three earlier complaints that were archived on the same day.
ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said there was still a chance the SC could reconsider its unanimous ruling. “Just because the decision was unanimous doesn’t mean it’s impossible [to reverse]. There are legal luminaries, even retired justices, who say factual conclusions may have been wrong,” she said.
Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno also insisted the Articles of Impeachment did not breach the Constitution. He pointed out that all four complaints were included in the House’s order of business on the same day of the session. The complaint with sufficient signatures was transmitted to the Senate first, before the other three were archived.
“If you look at the records, the verified complaint was transmitted before the others were archived. So, how can the earlier complaints trigger the one-year bar?” Diokno asked.
De Lima warned that waiting for the one-year ban to lapse on February 6 could diminish public interest in the case. “The momentum might be gone, and people may focus on other pressing issues,” she said.
Both De Lima and Diokno also warned of a constitutional crisis if the Senate, already convened as an impeachment court, proceeds with the trial despite the SC ruling. Diokno said a standoff could occur between the judiciary and the legislature, as the Constitution gives the Senate the sole power to try and decide impeachment cases once convened.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez maintained that the impeachment process is within the “exclusive domain” of the House and affirmed the chamber’s recognition of the SC decision, even as it prepares to seek its reversal.