Marcos respects SC ruling junking VP Sara impeachment case
Published Jan 30, 2026 01:59 pm
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
Malacañang said President Marcos respects the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirming that the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte was unconstitutional for violating the Constitution’s one-year bar rule.
In a press briefing on Friday, Jan. 30, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said the administration defers to the High Court as the final arbiter of legal questions.
“Igagalang po ng Pangulo, ng administrasyon kung anuman po ang naging desisyon ng Supreme Court patungkol po diyan (The President and the administration will respect whatever decision the Supreme Court has made on this matter),” she said.
Despite this, Castro stressed that the administration will continue to push its policy agenda regardless of developments surrounding the impeachment issue.
“Hindi naman po ito makakaapekto sa mga priority bills na nais ng Pangulo na maipasa (This will not affect the priority bills that the President wants passed),” she said.
Asked whether Malacañang has a message for Congress amid talks of refiling or amending impeachment rules, Castro said the Palace will not interfere.
“Trabaho po iyan ng Kongreso, hindi po makikialam ang Pangulo (That is the job of Congress, and the President will not interfere),” she said.
Meanwhile, Castro also addressed claims that the ruling clears the Vice President, saying the decision was procedural and did not resolve the substantive accusations.
“Makikita naman po at mababasa natin kung ano naging desisyon ng Supreme Court (We can see and read what the Supreme Court’s decision actually says),” she said.
“Hindi po ito patungkol sa paglilinis sa isang issue ng nasabing subject matter (It is not about clearing the issue or the subject matter involved),” she added.
The Palace Press Officer reiterated President Marcos’ position that accountability remains a core principle of his administration.
“Sabi nga po ng Pangulo – kung dapat managot, dapat managot (As the President has said, whoever should be held accountable must be held accountable),” Castro said.
The Supreme Court earlier dismissed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte, ruling that it violated the constitutional prohibition against filing more than one impeachment complaint against the same official within a year.