MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has formally asked the Senate to dismiss the impeachment complaint filed against her by the House of Representatives, citing a constitutional safeguard that bars multiple impeachment attempts against the same official within a year.
In a legal filing submitted ad cautelam (with caution), Duterte-Carpio’s camp argued that the fourth verified impeachment complaint lodged before the Senate impeachment court violates the one-year bar rule enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.
“Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, by counsel, without waiving any jurisdictional and/or other objections she has to this case and the Fourth Impeachment Complaint, respectfully states: the fourth impeachment complaint must be dismissed because it is void ab initio for violating the One-Year Bar Rule under Section 3 (5) Article XI of the 1987 Constitution,” the document read.
Despite the plea, the Senate voted 18-5 to return the complaint to the House of Representatives, opting not to dismiss or terminate the case outright.
The fourth complaint was filed in February and backed by over 200 lawmakers — well beyond the one-third requirement under the Constitution to send an impeachment case directly to the Senate for trial.
The complaint accuses Duterte-Carpio of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and grave threats — including alleged threats to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Earlier, three impeachment complaints were filed in connection with the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte also headed until her resignation. The complaints cited findings from a House inquiry on governance and public accountability that flagged liquidations containing erroneous dates, unidentified and illegible signatories, and fake documents.
However, those three complaints were never formally referred by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco to Speaker Romualdez, a critical procedural step required to initiate deliberation at the House Committee on Justice.
The Vice President’s team argues that the fourth complaint — despite securing the numbers — is null because earlier complaints were already filed within the same year, thus triggering the constitutional limit./PN
