MANILA: The Philippines’ top court blocked the impending Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday (Jul 25), saying it violated a constitutional provision against multiple impeachment proceedings within a single year.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that the House impeachment complaint versus VP Sara Duterte is barred by the one-year rule and that due process or fairness applies during all stages of the impeachment process,” court spokeswoman Camille Ting told reporters.
“There is a right way to do the right things at the right time,” Ting said.
“This is what fairness or due process of the law means, even for impeachment.”
The House of Representatives charged Duterte in early February with graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos.
A conviction, which requires the support of two-thirds of the Senate’s 24 members, would have meant her removal as vice president and a permanent ban from public office.
Friday’s ruling was in response to a petition filed by Duterte’s team in February, which requested a temporary restraining order.
The filing argued that a trio of complaints logged against Duterte in the House – voted on at the committee level – had constituted impeachment proceedings.
A second petition by a political ally was subsequently consolidated into one with the Duterte request.
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