There’s a big clash happening between two of the most powerful parts of the government — the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court — and it’s all about Vice President Sara Duterte.
What Happened?
The House of Representatives wanted VP Sara Duterte to face an impeachment trial. That means they believed she did something wrong and needed to be questioned about it.
But the Supreme Court said NO. On Friday, the justices declared that the plan to impeach her was unfair and broke the rules in the Constitution.
The Court said there can’t be more than one impeachment process in a year, and the House had already dealt with three older impeachment complaints in December 2024.
House Says the Supreme Court Got It Wrong
But the House isn’t backing down.
Princess Abante, the spokesperson of the House, said they will fight back by asking the Supreme Court to rethink its decision.
She explained that the Court made a mistake, saying the House didn’t vote properly — but she claims that’s not true at all.
“We followed the rules exactly. We voted. We approved it. The Senate got the complaint the right way,” she said.
Abante also said that on February 5, the House held a plenary vote — that means a big meeting where all members vote together — and agreed to send the complaint to the Senate. That, she said, was legal and correct.
About the 3 Old Complaints
The Supreme Court also said the House ignored three earlier complaints filed in December 2024. But Abante said that’s not true either. The House had already decided to set those aside (or “archive” them) on the same day they moved the February complaint forward.
That February complaint had enough signatures (more than one-third of House members), so by law, that should’ve been enough to move forward and send it to the Senate for trial.
Court Wants More Steps — House Says “That’s Not In The Rules”
The Court said the House should have reviewed the document again, had another vote, and given VP Sara a copy before sending it off.
But Abante said that’s nowhere in the Constitution or in the House’s own rules. She called the Court’s new requirements “too much” and said they were adding rules that don’t exist.
“They are changing the rules of the game, and only the House is allowed to handle impeachment,” Abante said.
Senator Lacson Weighs In
Senator Ping Lacson said that even if the trial can’t happen now, there are other ways to look into the things the impeachment raised.
He pointed to the issue of how VP Sara used confidential and intelligence funds (money meant to be used for secret operations). He said that the Senate budget hearings are the perfect time to ask about this.
“I’ll ask tough questions when we discuss the budget,” he said.
He also suggested that the Senate or House could start a new investigation — not for impeachment, but to create better laws about who can use secret funds.
Should the Senate Go Against the Court?
Senator Lacson warned that if the Senate continues the trial, it could break the rule of law.
“The Supreme Court is the boss when it comes to the Constitution. If we go against it, things might turn messy,” Lacson said.
He added that even if lawmakers don’t agree with the decision, they should respect the Court — or else the country could face confusion and chaos.
