Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the Senate to drop the impeachment case against her. In his response, Duterte said the complaint violates the One-Year Bar Rule under the 1987 Constitution, which states that no more than one impeachment case can be initiated within a year against the same official.
According to the document he submitted, the fourth complaint should be dismissed because it is "void ab initio" or null and void from the beginning. A copy of his response was received by the Congress and Senate on Monday afternoon, according to House Speaker Princess Abante and the Senate secretariat.
The House prosecutors have five days to submit their response. Since June 28 is a Saturday, they can file it until Monday, June 30.
Duterte further said that even though they were not acted upon or sent to the justice committee, the first three complaints should still be considered formally initiated. He added that the complaint lacked sufficient basis and called it a "scrap of paper."
Duterte was impeached in February due to allegations involving betrayal of the public trust, violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other serious crimes related to the alleged misuse of P600 million confidential funds. There is no date for the trial yet because the Senate returned the impeachment articles to the House before the 19th Congress adjourned.
