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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
June 3, 2026 | 12:00am
Vice President Sara Duterte appears before the Senate finance subcommittee to defend the Office of the Vice President’s proposed 2026 budget on Sept. 29, 2025.
PNA / Avito Dalan
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the Senate to dis miss the impeachment case against her, saying the Articles of Impeachment suffer fatal constitutional, procedural and substantive defects.
“They fail to satisfy the standards required by the Constitution and, accordingly, should be dismissed,” Duterte, through her 16-member defense team said.
Duterte’s legal team said the Articles of Impeachment are constitutionally infirm, procedurally defective and substantively deficient.
It added that the House committee on justice conduct ed a trial despite this being the Senate’s job.
“The Articles are the product of a House committee on justice process that exceeded the constitutional limits of its authority. Rather than confining itself to the determination of sufficiency in form and substance, the committee embarked upon what its own chairperson publicly characterized as a mini-trial. It issued subpoenas, received testimonial and documentary evidence, examined witnesses and undertook credibility assessments,” the defense team said.
It also noted that such functions belong exclusively to the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court.
“The Constitution vests in the House the power to initiate impeachment proceedings, but reserves the power to try and decide impeachment cases solely to the Senate,” the defense team added.
The legal team said there are clear indications and declarations that the House committee on justice had predetermined the impeachment of the Vice President even before purported additional evidence were received, completed and assessed. — Alexis Romero, Delon Porcalla
