The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said that it has already filed its comments on the motion of reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives to seek the Supreme Court’s (SC) reversal of its earlier ruling to junk the impeachment case.

This was confirmed by Atty. Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s lawyers, in a message to the media on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The comment was filed on Monday.

“We confirm that we have formally filed our Comment/Opposition to the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the House of Representatives before the Honorable Supreme Court,” he said.

“In deference to the sub judice rule and out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be granting media interviews or issuing further statements at this time,” he added.

In a copy of the 25-page comment, Duterte’s defense team asked the Supreme Court to deny the House of Representatives’ motion for “lack of merit.”

“The Decision requires no factual correction: it rests on an unshaken foundation of truth,” a part of the document read in response to the House’s motion that “it is apt to correct certain factual misunderstandings presented in the Decision.”

The team also argued that the Vice President must have been accorded due process even at the House level as it “precludes the Members from acting solely on their whims and caprices, but in accordance with at least the evidence and defenses which he or she is able to examine.”

Last month, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the impeachment case against Duterte, citing the one-year bar rule under the Constitution and that it violates her right to due process.

The high court, however, stressed that its junking of the impeachment case does not absolve the Vice President of the accusations against her, and that a new impeachment case can be filed starting Feb. 6 next year.

The House of Representatives then filed a motion for reconsideration before the SC, arguing that it should be allowed to perform its exclusive constitutional duty to initiate impeachment proceedings and for the Senate to try and decide.

The Senate, on the other hand, voted 19-4-1 to archive the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President despite the pending motion from the House.

With over 200 lawmakers signing the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, the House of Representatives impeached her last Feb. 5 and subsequently transmitted the Articles to the Senate.

The Vice President is being accused of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes.

She is likewise facing complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman.