cover photo: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/
- Violates one year ban and due process
- Unanimous decision with 13-0 votes
By Ivy Tejano
DAVAO CITY – The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Articles of Impeachment filed against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte was unconstitutional, citing violations of the one-year impeachment ban and due process.
Court spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting announced the unanimous decision on Friday, saying the justices voted 13-0 to void the impeachment complaints.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen penned the decision. Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa inhibited, while Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh was on leave.
Ting told the reporters that the High Court ruled that the impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte is invalid due to the one-year ban and that fairness must be observed throughout the impeachment process.
The Court cited Article 11, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within one year.
The ruling also emphasized that the process lacked adequate observance of due process rights. Because of this decision, Ting said, the Senate is barred from taking jurisdiction over the impeachment case.
“The Court clarified however that this ruling does not absolve Vice President Duterte of the allegations raised against her. Moreover, any new impeachment complaint may only be filed beginning February 6, 2026,” Ting explained .
According to the SC, the one-year ban begins when a prior impeachment complaint is dismissed or no longer viable.
Ting explained that the first three impeachment complaints were effectively archived and terminated on February 5, 2025 — the same day the House of Representatives endorsed a fourth complaint.
The ruling was issued in response to a consolidated petition filed by Vice President Duterte, legal counsel Israelito Torreon, and other petitioners seeking to nullify the impeachment articles on constitutional grounds.
With this decision, the SC reinforces the procedural safeguards surrounding the country’s impeachment process while making it clear that legal accountability remains possible — but stressed only within the bounds set by the Constitution.
