Metro Manila, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has declared as moot the consolidated petitions of Vice President Sara Duterte and lawyer Israelito Torreon questioning the impeachment proceedings before the House of Representatives justice committee.
“The SC ruled that the issues raised in the petitions had become moot, or no longer required resolution, because the House had already approved and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate,” read a portion of the court press briefer dated Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Torreon and eight other lawyers filed their petition in March, while Duterte filed hers in April.
The petitions questioned the constitutionality of the impeachment proceedings, arguing that the committee on justice had exceeded its constitutional authority by gathering evidence and calling on witnesses during the initial review of the impeachment complaints.
READ: Duterte turns to SC again to stop impeachment proceedings
They also sought a stay order on the impeachment proceedings.
On the first day of the impeachment trial, Torreon’s group even filed an urgent motion asking the high court to temporarily halt the proceedings.
They scrutinized Senate Resolution 48, adopted June 3, amending the rules of procedure on impeachment trials to allow for the election of a presiding officer in impeachment cases not involving the President of the Philippines.
‘No obstacles on trial’
In separate interviews, members of the prosecution panel welcomed the dismissal of the petitions.
Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said the ruling clears all obstacles to the trial.
“At least hindi na tayo kakaba-kaba na baka mamaya, bukas, makalawa, ay patitigilin tayo. Dahil sasabihin nila ay may Supreme Court decision at sinasabi nila e unconstitutional. Pero ngayon, wala ng dahilan para pagdudahan pa natin itong nangyayaring hearing,” he said.
[Translation: At least now we no longer have to worry that later, tomorrow, or the day after, we’ll be told to stop. Because they might say there’s a Supreme Court decision declaring it unconstitutional. But now, there’s no longer any reason for us to doubt or question these ongoing hearings.]
In 2025, the SC unanimously ruled that the first impeachment case against Duterte was unconstitutional for violating the one year-bar rule.
The decision led the Senate, sitting as the Impeachment Court, to archive the case, but new complaints were filed in February when the one-year ban lapsed.
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, another prosecutor, said the fresh ruling of the SC makes clear that the legal battle is no longer before the high court but now rests solely with the Impeachment Court.
“Ibig sabihin nito, lahat ng usapin patungkol sa mini-trial, fishing expedition ay nagwawakas ngayong araw na ito,” he said, rejecting the claims of Duterte’s lawyers.
[Translation: This means that all issues about holding a mini-trial or conducting a fishing expedition come to an end today.]
NewsWatch Plus has reached out to the vice president’s camp for comment.
NewsWatch Plus correspondent Lance Mejico contributed to this report.
