Makabayan bloc to refile VP Sara impeachment in 2026 if SC upholds ruling
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co said they will proceed with a new filing should the SC deny the House's motion for reconsideration, lodged on August 4.
The motion seeks to reverse the High Tribunal's decision striking down the impeachment complaints for violating the constitutional provision prohibiting more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year.
'Yes, definitely, if the impeachment fails to push through now, then as soon as possible—if that is February next year—we will relaunch that,' Tinio told reporters.
Co said the bloc will continue efforts to hold Duterte accountable, whether through impeachment or legislative hearings.
'For us, we will persist in our call to try Sara, whether it be through the impeachment trial or before the public. The public deserves to know where their money is going,' she said, criticizing Duterte for declining to attend congressional inquiries.
In the 19th Congress, Makabayan lawmakers endorsed the second of three impeachment complaints filed in December 2024. The first, lodged by civil society groups on December 2, was backed by Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña; the third, filed by lawyers and religious leaders on December 19, was endorsed by former legislators Naga City Rep. Gabriel Bordado and AAMBIS-OWA party-list Rep. Lex Anthony Colada.
On July 25, SC spokesperson Camille Ting announced that the court had unanimously ruled the impeachment articles transmitted to the Senate unconstitutional for violating the 1987 Constitution's one-year bar rule. The court determined the three December 2024 complaints were 'archived and deemed terminated' on February 5, 2025, barring any new filing until after February 6, 2026.
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