House awaits Supreme Court ruling on bid to reverse voided Duterte impeachment

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December 9, 2025 | 11:12am

MANILA, Philippines — Four months after filing a motion for reconsideration, the House of Representatives is still waiting on the Supreme Court’s decision that voided Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment.

Since that July decision, the Marcos administration has turned the public conversation toward alleged corruption in flood control projects, following a series of storms that submerged parts of the country in chest-deep floods.

While Congress launched legislative probes and the president formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, the effort has since backfired, with lawmakers themselves getting implicated and fresh Cabinet resignations unfolding.

For some House lawmakers, holding those behind the kickback scheme to account does not preclude pressing for answers to the lingering questions over the alleged ghost beneficiaries of Duterte’s confidential fund use and bribery. 

"Hindi pa sarado 'yung issues of accountability ng ating vice president, kaya in other words, hindi pa po siya lusot," Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) said on Monday, December 8. 

(The accountability issues surrounding our vice president are not yet closed, which means she is not yet in the clear.)

This came after Duterte claimed on Monday that the lower chamber is drafting a fresh impeachment complaint against her and using the proposed 2026 budget as a "bargaining chip," repeating allegations raised during her February impeachment, which was backed by 215 lawmakers.

"The latest pronouncement by some members of the House of Representatives on a new impeachment complaint is not surprising. Its timing reveals a pattern that has become all too familiar," the vice president said, lamenting the lack of any investigation to verify claims that project or district funding was traded for impeachment endorsements.

De Lima argued that she has not heard of any discussions among her colleagues about reviving the impeachment case, even during the budget deliberations that ended with its approval on third and final reading in October.

She added that the budget is already with the Senate, undercutting Duterte’s claims. Still, she said Duterte’s remarks may have been aired early to discredit any future moves to impeach her again.

"Maraming hindi nakakalimot, andyan pa ang kanyang accountability. Nandyan pa 'yung mga issues, the misuse of confidential funds and other issues na naging grounds nung impeachment complaint sa kanya," De Lima said. 

(Many have not forgotten — her accountability remains. The issues are still there, including the misuse of confidential funds and other matters that formed the basis of the impeachment complaint against her.)

Rep. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers Party-list) also said that Duterte's statement clearly attempts to mislead the public by claiming she is ready to answer questions, when she has never provided any concrete explanation on how her agencies’ confidential funds were used.

He, too, has never heard of discussions during the House budget deliberations of any impeachment against Duterte. 

House Public Accounts Committee Chair Terry Ridon said the chamber is simply waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the motion for reconsideration before taking the next step in the impeachment process.

Since the high court’s July ruling, the Senate has decided to archive the articles of impeachment, leaving them in limbo until and should the Supreme Court decides otherwise. 

"If resolved against the House, a new complaint may be filed against the Vice President in February, under the new Supreme Court impeachment guidelines," Ridon said, urging the high court to rule on the motion with finality.