DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Supreme Court has denied Vice President Sara Duterte’s bid to stop the House committee proceedings for her impeachment, which will continue on April 14.
The Vice President and her legal counsel filed two separate petitions at the SC two weeks ago seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the House Committee on Justice hearings, citing “grave abuse of discretion” in its procedure and a violation of the one-year ban rule.
The SC’s response is to ask the House of Representatives to comment on the petitions within ten days from receipt of notice.
With that statement, Representative Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list, a member of the Committee on Justice, said the schedule of impeachment hearings will go as planned, and he expects the Vice President to attend the as they had invited her.
“See you on April 14,” Ridon said in his X(Twitter) account.
The House committee had begun its hearings last March 25,and will continue on April 14, 22 and 29.
Ridon’s declaration rebuffs the claims of pro-Duterte political bloggers who claimed that the SC has stopped the whole impeachment process.
Constitutional
House leaders earlier maintained that the impeachment process has adhered to constitutional procedures and internal rules, stressing that the Committee on Justice has the mandate to evaluate the sufficiency of the complaint.
The committee will be hearing testimonies and evidences on April 14, particularly from Ramil Madriaga, the alleged security officer and bagman of the Vice President who confessed to be involved in the alleged distribution of confidential funds.
Legal experts have also noted that impeachment is a political process vested in Congress, with judicial intervention generally limited unless there is a clear showing of grave abuse of discretion.
Following the Court’s refusal to issue a TRO, members of the Makabayan bloc said the ruling affirms the independence of the impeachment process.
Sara desperate
“The impeachment proceedings have followed established rules and due process at every step,” said Makabayan members ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co.
They described Duterte’s TRO petition as a “desperate bid to evade accountability and derail the constitutional process.”
“The attempt to block accountability is blatant. The effort to torpedo the process before the full truth emerges is brazen,” the bloc said.
They added that the Supreme Court “should not be used as a refuge to evade accountability,” warning that “technicalities should not be used as a shield to deny justice and truth,” and that “the hearings must proceed and the evidence must be laid out.”
Duterte’s camp had argued that judicial intervention was necessary to address alleged legal issues in the impeachment proceedings. However, the Court’s move signals that it will not, at this point, interrupt the House-led process.
The Makabayan bloc urged both the Supreme Court and House leadership to uphold the integrity of the proceedings, emphasizing that impeachment is a constitutional mechanism for holding high-ranking officials accountable.
With the TRO bid denied, lawmakers are expected to continue deliberations on the impeachment complaints filed by civil society groups, lawyers and religious groups against Duterte, whom they accused of corruption of confidential funds, bribery and failure to disclose personal assets.
Duterte was voted to be impeached by the House last year on the same grounds, but the SC overturned this vote citing the one-year ban violation and procedural concerns.(davaotoday.com)
