Vice President Sara Duterte has gone straight to the country’s highest court, the Supreme Court (SC), asking them to throw out the appeal of the House of Representatives (HOR). The House wants to overturn the SC’s earlier ruling that stopped the impeachment case against her.
Sara hit back hard, saying the House is just distracting everyone with small details and ignoring the real problem: that lawmakers broke the rules and abused their power when they tried to impeach her.
🔥 How It All Started
Back in December 2024, three impeachment complaints were filed against Sara Duterte. All were linked to claims that she misused confidential funds.
Later, a fourth complaint came in—this one had strong support, backed by more than one-third of House lawmakers. That complaint was quickly sent to the Senate as the official Articles of Impeachment.
But on July 25, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that when the House endorsed the fourth complaint, it meant the first three complaints were already considered dismissed. According to the Constitution, you can’t have multiple impeachment attempts within one year. Because of that, the SC said the Senate had no authority to continue with the impeachment trial.
⚖️ The Clash Continues
The House didn’t give up. They filed a motion for reconsideration—basically asking the SC to change its mind—arguing that the first three complaints were only officially archived after the fourth was sent to the Senate.
But Sara fought back, saying the House is twisting the facts. She argued that the SC was clear: the fourth complaint was transmitted to the Senate without a proper plenary vote, which broke their own rules. She even cited the House’s own Rules on Impeachment Proceedings to prove her point.
She also slammed the House’s claim that the first three complaints weren’t dismissed yet. According to her, once the House chose to push forward with the fourth case, the earlier ones were automatically set aside. When the House formally archived the first three on February 5, 2025, that was proof they themselves already dropped them.
Sara called the House’s position “absurd” and said it contradicts their own records.
🛡️ Sara’s Final Blow
The House also argued that the SC’s ruling should only apply to future impeachment cases. But Sara shut that down, saying laws don’t work that way. She explained that “prospectivity” (only applying to the future) is meant to protect people not involved in the case. It can’t be used as a shield by the House, which the SC already found guilty of abusing the impeachment process.
In short, Sara told the SC that letting the House hide behind this rule would mean allowing abuse instead of correcting it.
👉 This fight shows how tense and dramatic the battle is between VP Sara Duterte and the House of Representatives—with the Supreme Court now holding the final say on whether the impeachment case against her stays dead or gets revived.
