Constitution drafter: Impeachment complaints vs. VP Sara did not violate rules

One of the drafters of the 1987 Constitution over the weekend said the initiation of impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte did not violate the charter, as these were all filed on the same day and did not exceed the “once a year” limit set by law.

In a post on his Facebook account, former Supreme Court Justice and 1987 Constitution drafter Adolfo Azcuna said the Constitution indicates that impeachment complaints are limited to “not more than once a year,” and not “more than one a year.”

Citing the Civil Code definition of a year as 365 days, this would mean that more than once a year would be equivalent to more than one day a year, as a day is the smallest unit of a year.

“Initiation proceedings all occurring WITHIN ONE DAY IN THE SPAN OF A YEAR DO NOT VIOLATE SEC 3, SUBSEC 5, ART XI OF THE CONSTITUTION,” Azcuna said in his post.

“The reason for this is the purpose of the once a year rule… It is to limit the amount of TIME taken away from official duties of both the official and the House of Representatives,” he added.

Azcuna also noted that even with the new definition of initiating, the four complaints initiated on one session day—February 5, 2025—did not violate the “more than once a year” rule.

Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national president Allan Panolong, meanwhile, said that the group is of the view that the provision means not more than one a year.

“Our position is that of the prevailing interpretation that not more than one a year. This is so to avoid unnecessary or harassment complaints against the impeachable officers,” he said in a statement aired in Ian Cruz's report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

Three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected with the alleged misuse of confidential funds. The fourth impeachment complaint, endorsed by over one-third of lawmakers from the House of Representatives, was later on transmitted to the Senate.

The Supreme Court then ruled unanimously to declare that the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte as unconstitutional and imposed a one-year ban, as it said these violate the right to due process.

SC spokesperson Camille Ting noted, however, that the SC is not absolving Duterte from any of the charges against her, but any subsequent impeachment complaint may only be filed starting February 6, 2026.

The decision is in relation to the petition filed by Duterte and lawyer Israelito Torreon, among others, seeking to declare the Articles of Impeachment against her null and void.

The House of Representatives has since filed a motion for the SC to reverse its decision, saying it should be allowed to perform its exclusive duty to prosecute an impeachable official, and the Senate’s to try to the case.

Duterte, for her part, entered a “not guilty” plea in the verified impeachment complaint filed against her, which she called merely a “scrap of paper.”