4 days ago
Senate submits manifestation to SC on Sara's impeachment
The Senate on Wednesday said that it has filed a Manifestation Ad Cautelam to the Supreme Court after the High Court required Congress to comment and submit information regarding the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
According to Atty. Regie Tongol, spokesperson of the Senate Impeachment Court, the manifestation was submitted yesterday through the Office of the Legal Counsel.
In the manifestation, the Senate "respectfully informed the Court that it currently lacks sufficient knowledge or access to the specific information requested."
Last week, the Supreme Court asked the House and the Senate to submit information regarding the following:
The status of the first three impeachment complaints filed against Duterte
The exact dates these were endorsed,
Whether the House Secretary General possesses discretion on when to transmit these to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Provide the basis and authority of the House Secretary General to refuse the transmittal of the complaints.
The SC requirement comes after the SC En Banc consolidated the petition filed by Duterte against the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint against her and the petition filed by lawyer Israelito Torreon and others seeking to declare the articles of impeachment null and void.
The SC also asked the Senate to provide which committee prepared the draft of the articles of impeachment and when it was completed and whether Duterte was given the opportunity to be heard on the evidence shared with the members of the House.
The Senate, in its manifestation, maintained that "constitutional boundaries of each branch and the limits of what information the Senate can provide especially when it has no official access to these matters and when these matters are similarly being asked from the House to provide in its Order dated June 11, 2025."
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court in June, voted to return to the House of Representatives the articles of impeachment against Vice Duterte without dismissing or terminating them until such time that:
The House of Representatives certify to the non violation of Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which provides that 'No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within one year; include the circumstances on the filing of the first three impeachment complaints"; and
The House of Representatives of the 20th Congress communicates to the Senate that it is willing and ready to pursue the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
To recall, three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected with the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
It was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over one-third of lawmakers from the House of Representatives, and was later transmitted to the Senate. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
