MANILA — A fourth legal bid to halt the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has been elevated to the Supreme Court of the Philippines, with a group of lawyers asking the tribunal to immediately stop the House of Representatives from continuing its hearings.
In a petition for certiorari and prohibition dated April 20, 2026, the lawyers sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to suspend the ongoing proceedings of the House Committee on Justice, warning that the panel has allegedly overstepped its constitutional limits.
The petition names committee chair Gerville Luistro and House leadership figure Faustino Dy III, successor to Martin Romualdez, as respondents.
The filing marks the fourth attempt to secure a TRO against the impeachment process, following earlier petitions, including one filed by Duterte-Carpio herself.
Petitioners Hue Jyro Go, Micah Lorelle De Guzman, and Jake Leoncini argued that the House panel’s actions — particularly the issuance of subpoenas and evidentiary directives — have gone beyond a preliminary determination of the complaint’s sufficiency.
“In the present case, the continuing acts of respondents – particularly the issuance and implementation of subpoenas, compulsory processes, and evidentiary directives-are not mere procedural incidents but affirmative acts that irreversibly alter the character of impeachment proceedings from a constitutionally limited threshold evaluation into an unauthorized investigative and quasi-inquisitorial process,” the petitioners said.
They cautioned that without Supreme Court intervention, the panel may continue compelling the submission of documents, including personal financial records such as Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
“The power to initiate is not the power to investigate without limit, to search for offenses not sufficiently pleaded, or to compel evidence in order to cure defects in a complaint that should have stood or fallen on its face,” the petitioners added.
Aside from seeking a TRO or injunction, the group also asked the high court to nullify the committee’s actions, including its rulings affirming the sufficiency in form and substance of two impeachment complaints.
The impeachment case against Duterte-Carpio includes allegations of unexplained wealth, which remains under scrutiny as hearings continue in the House./PN
