Carpio: SC may still reverse decision on Sara Duterte’s impeachment

Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday that there is still a possibility that the high court will reverse its decision declaring the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional. 

Carpio said this, hinging on the plan of the House of Representatives to file a motion for reconsideration on the SC decision as the lower chamber argued that the ruling was based on incorrect findings that contradict official records.

“Theoretically, pwede [it’s possible]. I mean, there’s no rule or law, constitutional provision that say that they [cannot] correct themselves,” Carpio said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum when asked of the possibility of the decision getting reversed even as the SC justices voted unanimously on it. 

According to the former SC associate justice, there had been many instances in the past when the high court “completely reversed itself.” 

Meanwhile, Christian Monsod, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, said that the SC “overreached its power” in declaring the impeachment complaint unconstitutional. 

“If the Supreme Court made a mistake or wrong in what they were doing…then the people can go to the Ombudsman,” he said. 

Monsod said that the SC may “correct itself on some parts” of its decision. 

“It’s not yet final, it’s only executory but not yet final because the House still has motion for reconsideration. So I would think that the Senate should hold in abeyance any action because it’s not yet final,” Carpio explained. 

“Normally, you act when it’s already final. Because it’s not yet final, there’s still a chance it could be reversed or changed because there’s a motion for reconsideration,” he added.

Carpio, however, emphasized that if the decision becomes final, the ruling must be followed because the Supreme Court is the final arbiter “whether it’s correct or not.”

Voting 13-0, the Supreme Court earlier declared the articles of impeachment against Duterte as unconstitutional, saying that it was barred by the one-year rule under Article XI Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution. The high court also found that the articles violated Duterte’s right to due process.

The SC decision is immediately executory but a motion for reconsideration may be filed.

The high court also emphasized that it is not absolving Duterte from any of the charges against her, but any subsequent impeachment complaint may only be filed starting February 6, 2026. 

House of Representatives spokesperson Princess Abante said the lower chamber is preparing to file a motion for reconsideration of the SC decision, noting that upon studying, the House found that the bases for it were alarming.

“Ang Kamara, matapos ang masusing pag-aaral, ay maghahain ng motion for reconsideration dahil ang desisyon na nagsasabing ang Articles of Impeachment na ipinadala sa Senado ay barred or unconstitutional ay nakaangkla sa mga factual premises o findings na mali at salungat sa opisyal na record ng Kamara,” Abante said.

(The House, after thorough study, will file a motion for reconsideration because the decision declaring that the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate are barred or unconstitutional is based on factual premises or findings that are incorrect and contrary to the official records of the House.)

Meanwhile, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced Tuesday that the Senate will discuss the SC decision on August 6, 2025, “in order to afford ample and sufficient time to the members to study the 97-page Supreme Court decision, excluding the concurring and separate opinions filed by five or six additional magistrates of the Supreme Court.”—AOL, GMA Integrated News