Jamaine Punzalan

The Senate of the Philippines, sitting as an impeachment court, resumed the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, July 13, 2026, to hear from a new witness on the impeachment articles against the Vice President. Voltaire Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit

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VP Sara Impeachment

Adrian Ayalin

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/178409280240220260714--senate-impeachment-day4-SSMU-VD-4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The Senate of the Philippines, sitting as an impeachment court, resumed the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, July 13, 2026, to hear from a new witness on the impeachment articles against the Vice President. Voltaire Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Latin may be a “dead language,&quot; no longer used on a daily basis by a population or a particular group of people, but the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has resurrected some legal terminologies you might want to know.  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Sui generis  </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The University of the Philippines College of Law’s impeachment primer defines impeachment proceedings as “sui generis” or a class of its own.</p><p>An impeachment trial, said to be political in nature, is not the usual trials we see in courts with a rigid set of rules as the Senate has its own rules on impeachment. </p><p>Impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero mentioned “sui generis” in his opening statement on the first day of trial.</p><p>“Given that impeachment is a sui generis proceedings, the standards of proof that govern administrative, civil and criminal proceedings do not apply,” said Escudero.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Subpoena duces tecum</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Filipinos may already be familiar with the word “subpoena” but witnesses, even from the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada, were issued two different kinds of subpoenas.</p><p>According to the Dictionary of Latin Legal Terms and other Foreign Terminologies by Tomas Quintin D. Andres of New Day Publishers, “subpoena duces tecum” means an order to a witness to bring with him or her any books or records in his or her possession. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Subpoena ad testificandum</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In contrast, “subpoena ad testificandum”, in Lozada, Jr. v. Macapagal Arroyo decision of the Supreme Court, was defined as a “subpoena” used to “compel a person to testify.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Salus populi suprema lex </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Lead House Prosecutor Gerville Luistro, in her opening speech, underscored the importance of “salus populi suprema lex.”</p><p>“Amid the clarity of the mandate of the Constitution, political noise continues, political squabbles continue, political division continues, please let me conclude, salus populi es suprema lex, the welfare of the people is the supreme law,” Luistro said.</p><p>“Salus populi es suprema lex” translates to “The welfare of the people is the supreme law” in the Dictionary of Latin Legal Terms and other Foreign Terminologies.  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Void ab initio</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Lead defense counsel Shiela Sison also underscored during the first day of trial that the articles of impeachment transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate were “void ab initio.”</p><p>“In a July 2025 decision, the Supreme Court unanimously declared in Duterte vs. House of Representatives GR No.s 278353 and 278359 that the impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives were tainted with grave abuse of discretion rendering the articles of impeachment that the House transmitted last year to the Senate as void ab initio,” Sison said.</p><p>In Niñal v. Bayadog decision of the Supreme Court, “void ab initio” is “considered as having never to have taken place and cannot be the source of rights.” </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Expressio unius est exclusio alterius</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Senator judges Vicente Sotto III and Imee Marcos also included Latin maxims on the first day of trial during discussions on whether the Senate President or any of the senators should sit as the impeachment court’s Presiding Officer.</p><p>“Eto ngayon ang legal maxim, expressio unius est exclusio alterius, in other words, the express mention of one thing is the exclusion of another,” Sotto said.</p><p>“Palibhasa nauso ang Latin, kabaligtaran din sa ini-quote ni Sen. Sotto, expressio unius est exlusio alterius, palibhasa hindi naman inexempt, ibig sabihin na laging dapat ang Senate President ang presiding officer,” Marcos replied.</p><p>In Development Bank of the Philippines v. Commission on Audit decision of the Supreme Court, “expressio unius est exclusio alterius” was defined as “a statute, by its terms, is expressly limited to certain matters, it may not, by interpretation or construction, be extended to others.”</p><p>It may be a fad, as mentioned by Marcos, but some Latin terms, phrases, maxims are here to stay as they are still used in courts, and the Senate impeachment court is no exception.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/impeachment-day-6-prosecution-defense-to-spar-over-vp-sara-bank-tax-records-0858">Impeachment day 6: Prosecution, defense to spar over VP Sara bank, tax records </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/wrap-nbi-exec-weathers-questions-on-credibility-qualifications-0024">WRAP: NBI exec weathers questions on credibility, qualifications </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/kapunan-says-zuleika-lopez-listed-as-witness-in-another-impeachment-article-0041">Kapunan says Zuleika Lopez listed as witness in another impeachment article </a></div><div><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/3StIaciCWP4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Latin may be a “dead language," but the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has resurrected some legal terminologies you might want to know.</p>

Latin may be a “dead language," but the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has resurrected some legal terminologies you might want to know.

Latin 101: Terms used in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

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Latin 101: Terms used in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 15, 2026 01:23 PM PHT

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