Jamaine Punzalan

Vice President Sara Duterte announces her intention to run for the presidency in the 2028 national elections during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP SARA DUTERTE

Adrian Ayalin

Agatha Gregorio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177459178697120260218-vp-sara-duterte-presidency-MT6.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte announces her intention to run for the presidency in the 2028 national elections during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — A group of lawyers on Friday sought from the Supreme Court a temporary restraining order against the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives.</p><p>In their petition for certiorari with prayer for TRO, lawyers led by Israelito Torreon asked the Supreme Court whether the House could be allowed to proceed with the impeachment complaints that were “constitutionally and procedurally defective.”</p><p>“The Constitution grants the House the sole power to initiate impeachment, but that power is not absolute,” the petition read.</p><p>“It is bounded by law, by due process, by the Committee’s duty to dismiss complaints that fail the required threshold tests, and by prohibition against converting impeachment initiation into a roving inquiry designed to build, rather than merely evaluate, a case,” it added.</p><p>The petitioners specifically cited the issuance of subpoenas by the Committee on Justice, among others.</p><p>“The assailed complaints were allowed to survive threshold review under a far more permissive standard than the House itself had just applied in the impeachment complaints filed against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and the process then escalated into subpoenas, hearings, and compulsory process designed to search for the proof the pleadings failed to allege on their face,” the petitioners said.</p><p>In a press conference, Torreon noted that the committee <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/25/house-panel-to-subpoena-sara-duterte-saln-nbi-findings-on-threat-vs-marcos-1241">issued subpoenas</a> to the Office of the Ombudsman for the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of the Vice President covering 2007 to 2013, 2016 to 2022 and 2022 to 2025, among others. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/26/ombudsman-says-ready-to-provide-vp-sara-duterte-s-salns-to-congress-1125">Ombudsman says &#x27;ready&#x27; to provide VP Sara Duterte&#x27;s SALNs to Congress</a></div><p>“It is conducting a clear fishing expedition which is not sanctioned under the 1987 Constitution or in the rules of the House of Representatives,” Torreon said. </p><p>Petitioner Victor Rodriguez added that under the Constitution, the House can only initiate impeachment proceedings and the Senate will conduct the trial.</p><p>“Hanggang doon lang sila pagdating sa pagdinig, pagdating sa trial, pagdating sa presentation ng evidence and counter-evidence Senado lang at walang iba,” Rodriguez said. </p><p>As a final relief, the petitioners asked the Supreme Court, among others, to declare that the two impeachment complaints should be dismissed at threshold for insufficiency in form and substance.</p><p>The petitioners also asked the court to declare that the participation of the House members who backed the impeachment complaint tainted the committee’s proceedings with bias, in violation of due process.</p><p>House Committee on Justice Chairperson Gerville Luistro and  Speaker Faustino Dy III were named as respondents in the petition. </p><p>Other petitioners included lawyers Resci Angelli Rizada-Nolasco, Martin Delgra III, Wendel Avisado, James Patrick Bondoc, Raul Lambino, Luna Maria Dominique Acosta-Manlitoc, Jesus Hinlo, Jr., and Dr. Richard Mata. </p><div> </div><div><strong>‘POLLUTED SOURCE’</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Luistro earlier in the day refuted allegations from the Duterte legal team that the panel accepted the narrative of a “polluted source,” referring to Duterte’s alleged bagman <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/25/house-justice-panel-orders-subpoena-for-ramil-madriaga-michael-poa-2215">Ramil Madriaga.</a></p><p>During Wednesday’s hearing, the committee ordered the issuance of a subpoena for Madriaga and approved his protective custody. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/27/sara-duterte-lawyer-teves-alleged-threat-vs-madriaga-comical-0913">Sara Duterte lawyer: Teves’ alleged threat vs Madriaga ‘comical’</a></div><p>“What we are saying is hindi naman lahat ng inoffer na evidence ng complainant are accepted with gospel truth. The purpose of this hearing proper is to check, to test the veracity of the allegations in the complaint, of the affidavits, including the evidence, which will be presented in support of the allegations in the complaint,” Luistro told reporters. </p><p>Duterte has denied having given Madriaga “instructions of any kind.”</p><p>House Committee on Justice member Joel Chua said that supposed constitutional issues raised by Duterte’s lawyers against the proceedings were “mere hallucinations.” </p><p>“We followed the due process guidelines of the Supreme Court meticulously laid out in its two decisions on the previous articles,” Chua said. </p><p>Luistro said she cannot stop Duterte’s camp from resorting to measures such as going to the Supreme Court to file a petition. But she asserted that lawmakers were “merely following the rules of impeachment.” </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/26/sara-duterte-impeachment-hearings-in-house-not-a-trial-luistro-clarifies-1230">Sara Duterte impeachment hearings in House not a trial, Luistro clarifies</a></div><p>Chua expressed confidence that if all evidence is presented, it will be easy for them to get the vote of at least 105 House members for the impeachment case to make it to the Senate for trial.</p><p>But he admitted that many of his colleagues were likely considering the 2028 elections, following Duterte’s announcement that she would run for president. </p><p>“Siyempre hindi mo maalis na marami po diyan ay nakatingin din naman sa 2028. Pero ako na naman, confident naman ako dahil sinasabi nila kung malakas naman talaga ang ebidensya ay wala rin silang magiging choice except to give their vote,” Chua added.</p><p>For Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, member of the House Committee on Justice, Duterte&#x27;s lawyers and allies&#x27; claim of taxpayer status as basis for standing is &quot;misplaced,&quot; saying taxpayer suits &quot;are recognized only in cases involving the illegal disbursement of public funds.&quot;</p><p>&quot;No such disbursement is involved in impeachment proceedings,&quot; he noted.</p><p>Ridon also said that the subpoena of documents &quot;is well within the authority of the House Committee on Justice under the 1987 Constitution and the House Rules on Impeachment, both of which expressly allow the conduct of hearings in aid of impeachment proceedings.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Neither the Constitution nor the Rules require that all evidence be attached to the impeachment complaint at the time of filing. The Committee is fully empowered to undertake all necessary fact-finding measures to establish the truth,&quot; he said, rejecting Duterte camp&#x27;s accusation of a &quot;fishing expedition.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><em><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wufUP2s4Gtw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></em><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rA9Iw8IZGSk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div>

<p>Lawyers allied with Vice President Sara Duterte said Friday they sought from the Supreme Court a temporary restraining order against the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives.</p>

Lawyers allied with Vice President Sara Duterte said Friday they sought from the Supreme Court a temporary restraining order against the impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives.

Supreme Court asked to issue TRO sought vs Sara Duterte impeachment proceedings

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Supreme Court asked to issue TRO sought vs Sara Duterte impeachment proceedings

Adrian Ayalin,

Agatha Gregorio,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 27, 2026 02:11 PM PHT

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Updated March 27, 2026 06:12 PM PHT

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Sara Duterte

impeachment

Supreme Court

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