Several Mindanao lawyers and residents asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to stop the Senate from conducting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and to declare the Articles of Impeachment “null and void.”

In a petition, they told the SC the Articles of Impeachment were null and void “for failure to meet constitutional requirements on verification and proper initiation of impeachment proceedings and for failure to accord due process to Vice-President Duterte prior to the filing with the Senate….”

They asked the SC to issue immediately a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of preliminary injunction to stop the Senate from conducting impeachment proceedings “based on the defective Articles of Impeachment.”

The House of Representatives and the Senate were named respondents in the petition.

The petitioners said that on Feb. 5, 2025, “under the shroud of haste and political maneuvering, 215 Members of the House of Representatives initiated and transmitted a fourth impeachment complaint against the Vice President of the Philippines.”

“This latest impeachment complaint, rushed through Congress in a single day, was not properly verified by the House Members in violation of Section 3(4), Article XI of the Constitution,” the petitioners alleged.

Led by lawyers Israelito P. Torreon, Martin Delgra III, James T. Reserva and Hillary Olga M. Reserva – the petitioners also told the SC:

“The Constitution is clear: impeachment is not a tool for political expediency, nor should it be reduced to a mere numbers game among legislators seeking to consolidate power. It is a solemn process, bound by strict procedural requirements, meant to safeguard -- not subvert – democracy.

“Yet, in reckless defiance of these constitutional mandates, the House has trampled upon the fundamental principles of justice, disregarded precedent, and undermined the voice of the people by weaponizing impeachment as a means to remove a duly elected leader.

“This Honorable Court is now called upon to halt the erosion of democratic principles, uphold the rule of law, and ensure that impeachment remains what it was always intended to be -- a mechanism of last resort, not a weapon of political suppression.”

In an interview after the filing of the petition, Torreon said: “We feel that the impeachment complaint is constitutionally deficient.”

“It is a violation of pertinent constitutional provisions and it is likewise jurisdictionally void and the same should be dismissed and not entertained by the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines,” he also said.

At the same time, Torreon stressed that “the Constitution, specifically Article 11, Section 3 thereof, mandates that upon receipt of the impeachment complaint, the same should be included in the House— in the order of business within 10 session days.”

“And thereafter, the Speaker should have referred it to the Committee on Justice within three days and these are mandatory provisions which were not followed by the House of Representatives,” he added.

The impeachment complaints against Duterte were “based on the grounds of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.”

The copy of the verified complaints for impeachment was turned over to the Senate by the House of Representatives shortly before the former adjourned session last Feb. 5.

Senate President Escudero had said the Senate cannot legally start the impeachment trial while Congress is on recess.

Escudero had also said that the impeachment case was not referred to the plenary before session adjourned, and thus there was no basis for the Senate to convene as an impeachment court.

He declared that when Senate sessions resume in June, the senators would review and update the impeachment rules. Thereafter, the pre-trial would start, he said.