Davao City dad confirms receipt of House motion on VP Sara impeachment
By Ivy Tejano
DAVAO CITY – A councilor here confirmed on Tuesday, Aug. 5, that the Law Firm of Torreon and Partners has officially received the motion for reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives before the Supreme Court challenging the SC ruling that declared the House’s impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional.
VICE President Sara Duterte (FB)
Speaking at the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos, Councilor Luna Marie Dominique Acosta, one of the case petitioners, said the law firm received the motion on Monday, Aug. 4, and scanned the document that evening.
“We will be studying it thoroughly in the coming days,” Acosta said, adding that their legal team is now beginning research for any directive from the High Court.
Acosta clarified that they have yet to receive an official order from the SC on whether they will be asked to comment or proceed directly to oral arguments. “Whatever the order of the Supreme Court will be, the law firm is ready to respond,” she said.
The House of Representatives formalized its appeal on Monday by filing a motion for reconsideration aiming to overturn the High Court decision.
The SC ruled the fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte unconstitutional for violating the 1987 Constitution’s one-year bar rule on filing successive complaints.
The House of Representatives said its move was not an act of defiance, but a step taken “with utmost respect for the Constitution, in defense of institutional balance, and the name of the Filipino people.”
“This is not an act of defiance or disrespect. It is an exercise in constitutional stewardship – an affirmation that every branch must act with fidelity to the Charter that gives us all our power,” the House said.
It added that their decision was not to provoke a clash of institutions but to prevent the erosion of the people’s right to accountability.
The ruling was announced on July 25 by SC spokesperson Camille Ting, who cited the constitutional provision barring multiple impeachment complaints against the same official within one year.
The fourth impeachment complaint was endorsed and signed by 215 members of the House of Representatives from the 19th Congress and was transmitted to the Senate on Feb. 5.
As the legal process continues, the petitioners’ legal team, led by the Torreon and Partners Law Firm is ready to respond as soon as the SC issues its directive.