House Digs In, Challenges Supreme Court Ruling on Duterte Impeachment

House Speaker Martin Romualdez confirms the House’s appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the VP Duterte impeachment case, asserting its constitutional right to prosecute impeachable officials and allowing the Senate to conduct a trial.

House Digs In, Challenges Supreme Court Ruling on Duterte Impeachment

By Wilma N. Yamzon – TheNationWeek.Com | August 5, 2025

MANILA, Philippines – In a high-stakes political battle, the House of Representatives is refusing to concede defeat in its attempt to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, filing a motion for reconsideration that challenges a recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling.

The move, widely seen as an effort to derail Duterte’s anticipated 2028 presidential run, escalates the already fraught relationship between the legislative and judicial branches.

The House, through the Office of the Solicitor General, submitted the motion via the Philippine Judiciary Portal on Monday (Aug. 4, 2025), seeking to overturn the SC’s July decision that effectively halted impeachment proceedings against Duterte.

The high court, in a unanimous 13-0 ruling, blocked the Senate impeachment trial, arguing that it violated the constitutional prohibition against multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official within a single year.

The decision, delivered just days before the Senate was scheduled to reconvene, threw Duterte’s political future into question.

A conviction in the Senate would have barred her from holding public office, potentially ending her presidential ambition.

Duterte was impeached by the House in early February on charges of graft and corruption and allegations of an assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., her former running mate.

Duterte’s legal team argued that three earlier impeachment complaints filed against her in the House – though ultimately dismissed at the committee level – constituted formal impeachment proceedings, thereby triggering the constitutional safeguard against repeated attempts.

The case is being closely watched by legal experts, with some, like the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA), expressing concerns that the SC’s ruling could undermine the constitutional balance of power.

The University of the Philippines’ Faculty of Law has also stressed the importance of respecting Congress’s constitutional authority over impeachment.

The SC’s decision and the subsequent appeal have sparked a national debate about the boundaries of impeachment powers and the potential for political manipulation within the process.