Duterte asked to comment on House MR

THE SUPREME Court (SC) on Tuesday asked Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio and Davao-based lawyer Israelito P. Torreon to comment on the Motion for Reconsideration (MR) filed by the House on the same day.

They were given 10 days from Aug. 5 to comply with the court’s order.

The House had asked the High Court to overturn a ruling that declared Ms. Duterte’s impeachment as unconstitutional, through a motion filed electronically on Monday. The chamber submitted a physical copy to the SC on Tuesday.

The SC last month unanimously ruled that the complaint against Ms. Duterte violated a constitutional safeguard that only one impeachment proceeding may be launched against an impeachable official within one year. It also decided that the House violated the Vice-President’s right to due process.

A total of four complaints were hurled against Ms. Duterte since December last year. She was only impeached in February after more than 200 congressmen voted to send the ouster changes to the Senate without any hearing.

Meanwhile, a congressman on Tuesday urged the SC to handle with “utmost care” the House of Representatives.

The High Court should weigh the arguments cited in the House’s motion as Ms. Duterte’s impeachment is a “landmark” test in pursuing accountability for high-ranking officials, said Batangas Rep. Gerville R. Luistro.

“With all due respect to the Supreme Court, the Motion for Reconsideration must be resolved with utmost care,” Ms. Luistro, who was part of the House prosecution panel, said in a statement. “This is a landmark case in impeachment proceedings, thus both parties must be accorded ample opportunity to argue their respective positions.”

A likely contender in the 2028 presidential race, Ms. Duterte was accused of budget misuse, unexplained wealth and allegedly conspiring the assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. She denied all accusations. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio