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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Luistro asks SC when it's legal to file new impeachment complaints vs VP Duterte

Luistro asks SC when it's legal to file new impeachment complaints vs VP Duterte

Published Feb 3, 2026 01:47 pm

At A Glance

  • House Committee on Justice Chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to clarify for the record what the reckoning date is, in connection with the 19th Congress impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


House Committee on Justice Chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to clarify for the record what the reckoning date is, in connection with the 19th Congress impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
"So we are in a crossroad again. Which are we going to follow? Is it the reckoning period of Feb. 5 or is it the reckoning period of Dec. 2? I hope that this can be clarified by the honorable [SC]," Luistro said in a press briefing Monday afternoon, Feb. 2.
Feb. 5, 2025 refers to the date when the "fast-tracked" impeachment complaint signed by 215 congressmen was transmitted to the Senate, while Dec. 2, 2024 refers to the date when the first actual impeachment rap was filed.
Out of the four total impeachment complaints pursued against the Vice President, only the Feb. 5 complaint was deemed "initiated" by the House. But the SC in a July 25, 2025 ruling declared this as unconstitutional.
Seeking clarification from the SC is important because it will provide a hard date as to when a fresh impeachment complaint can be filed against Vice President Duterte, following the constitutional one-year bar rule.
The initiation of the impeachment complaint marks the start of the year-long prohibition on the filing of new complaints.
Luistro's appeal to the high court came as not one, but two new impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte on Monday morning.
The Batangas solon joked that she, too, was "confused" by the situation, especially since there were now two separate SC decisions on Vice President Duterte's defeated impeachment to consider.
The latest SC ruling, handed down last Jan. 28, changed the meaning of "session days" into the more literal "calendar days". Together with the dismissal of Feb. 5 complaint, this apparently moved the reckoning date to an earlier date, as exploited by the two groups that lodged complaints on Monday.
"It depends which decision you are referring to. Kasi (Because) if we are referring to the original decision of the [SC], ang basis ng (the basis of) running of the one-year prohibition period is the impeachment complaint filed via one-third that was filed on Feb. 5. That's why they're saying Feb. 6, 2026, pwede nang mag-file (new complaints could be filed already)," Luistro said.
“However, if you are referring to the resolution recently issued by the [SC], they were saying that the first impeachment complaint that was [filed on] Dec. 2, 2024, because of inaction of the House, was deemed initiated when the period of 10 session days lapsed. That was Jan. 14 of 2025 and that is why by implication, Jan. 15, 2026, nag-lapsed na ang one-year prohibition period (the one-year prohibition period had lapsed)," she noted.
It is the justice committee that carries out hearings on referred impeachment complaints.
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