Congress given 10 days to comment on Sara Duterte's impeachment challenge

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has asked Congress to file a comment on Vice President Sara Duterte's petition challenging the impeachment proceedings against her.

At a press briefing on February 25, Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting announced that the House of Representatives, the Senate, and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco must submit their comments within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of the notice.

Duterte, who is facing impeachment charges, filed her petition before the high court on February 18.

In her petition, she requested that the impeachment complaint be declared invalid, arguing that it violated the constitutional rule prohibiting multiple impeachment filings within a year.

She further said the House's handling of three earlier complaints—particularly their failure to be officially submitted—constituted prior actions that rendered the current complaint unconstitutional.

On the same day Duterte filed her petition, a group of Mindanaoan lawyers also submitted a separate petition to the high court. They sought to halt the impeachment proceedings and described the complaints as “defective.”

According to Ting, the Supreme Court is still assessing if it would consolidate Duterte’s petition with that of the Mindanaoan lawyers.

Other petitions. On February 15, Catalino Generillo Jr., a former special counsel for the Presidential Commission on Good Government, filed a separate petition before the Supreme Court. He sought to compel the Senate to immediately convene an impeachment tribunal.

Generillo argued that the Constitution sets clear deadlines for handling impeachment complaints. He noted that once a verified complaint or resolution is endorsed by all House members, it automatically serves as the articles of impeachment, requiring the Senate to proceed with an impeachment trial without delay.

What happened earlier. On February 5, 215 members of the House of Representatives voted to move forward with Duterte's impeachment.

The charges against her include alleged misuse of confidential funds and issuing death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.