VICE President Sara Duterte has asked the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the fourth verified impeachment complaint filed against her, citing a violation of the one-year bar rule under the 1987 Constitution.
Duterte’s counsels delivered the vice president’s 35-page response—filed ad cautelam or with legal caution—to the Office of Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., who also serves as clerk of court of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
The document was received at 5:49 p.m. on Monday.
The Vice President argued that the fourth impeachment complaint was “void ab initio” because it breached the one-year prohibition on filing multiple impeachment cases against the same official, as outlined in Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution.
The House of Representatives also received a copy of Duterte’s response, confirmed by her legal spokesperson, Princess Abante.
Earlier, three separate impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte over the alleged misuse of P612 million in confidential funds.
However, none were formally transmitted to the Speaker’s Office by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco—an essential step for deliberation by the House Justice Committee.
The fourth complaint, filed on Feb. 5 and endorsed by over 200 lawmakers, went directly to the Senate as per constitutional procedure. It accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
Additional allegations include bribery of education officials, unexplained wealth, nondisclosure of assets in her SALNs, and her controversial public statement about an assassination plot targeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the First Lady, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The complaint also references her alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during her father Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency.
