Sara Duterte’s plea seeking to void House impeach proceedings junked

MANILA, Philippines— The Supreme Court junked consolidated petitions from Vice President Sara Duterte and and lawyer Israelito Torreon’s group, ruling the challenge moot since the Articles of Impeachment have already been forwarded to the Senate for trial.

In a statement on Wednesday, the high tribunal explained that any decision regarding the legality of the House and its Committee on Justice actions would no longer impact the dispute.

Sara Duterte plead junked

The ruling, which has yet to be made publicly available, acted on the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed separately that urged the Supreme Court to declare the unconstitutionality of the impeachment proceedings at the time in the House of Representatives.

READ: LIVE: VP Sara Duterte impeachment Day 13

The high court also noted that while it may still rule on issues that have become moot, it said it found no basis to apply the recognized exceptions in the particular petitions.

The first one was filed on March 27 by Torreon, Victor Rodriguez, Martin Delgra III, Jimmy Bondoc, Raul Lambino, Luna Acosta-Manlitoc and four others, while the second petition was filed by Duterte herself on April 1.

They argued that the House Committee on Justice went beyond its constitutional authority to gather evidence and call witnesses during the initial review of the complaints.

It also challenged the panel’s findings that two out of the four complaints against Duterte were sufficient in form, substance and grounds.

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted from the House to the Senate on May 13.

The impeachment trial of Duterte in the upper chamber has already begun and is now on its 13th day. /apl

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