Supreme Court Bars Impeachment Complaints Against Vice President Duterte

The Supreme Court en banc unanimously ruled that the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte were unconstitutional due to the one-year rule in the 1987 Constitution. The Court stressed the importance of due process and fairness in impeachment proceedings.

Referring to Article 11, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution, the Court stated that filing multiple impeachment complaints against the same official within a year is prohibited. The ruling highlighted the significance of fairness in legal processes, emphasizing that 'The end does not justify the means' and 'There is a right way to do the right thing at the right time.'

Consequently, the Court stated that the Senate lacked jurisdiction over the current impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte. However, this decision does not clear the Vice President of the allegations in the previous complaints. The Court specified that any new impeachment complaints against Duterte can only be filed after Feb. 6, 2026.

The case stemmed from four separate impeachment complaints. The first three were filed by private individuals and groups before the House of Representatives in December 2024, and the fourth was initiated through a resolution by more than one-third of the 19th Congress members in February 2025.