SC impeachment ruling doesn't absolve Sara Duterte of wrongdoing, says solon

House Assistant Majority Leader Ysabel Maria Zamora said Friday the recent Supreme Court ruling on the impeachment case does not absolve Vice President Sara Duterte of any wrongdoing.

"The Supreme Court said that they underscored that the July 25, 2025 decision did not absolve the Vice President and that the grounds raised in the Articles of Impeachment may again be raised in future impeachment complaints. So huwag po natin isipin na walang sala o walang ginawang masama ang ating Vice President," Zamora, also House justice committee vice chairperson, said in an online interview.

"It was really a resolution that was based on technicality," the legislator from San Juan City added.

Zamora cited the Supreme Court's definition of "session days" which differed from the House of Representatives'.

"For the Supreme Court, ang sabi nila, a session day is when a day is a calendar day when there is a Congress session. Now, for members of Congress, for the House of Representatives, a session day is actually interpreted as one that starts and ends upon adjournment of the proceedings. So that is one session day. And that has long been the definition of a session day. So doon tayo medyo magkakatalo," she explained.

In the House of Representatives, one session day can stretch to several calendar days.

"We will try to harmonize the resolution with the existing rules of Congress," Zamora said.

Zamora, as assistant majority leader, is part of the House Committee on Rules which handles, among others, "all matters relating to the Rules of the House, Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation, Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings."

"As a lawyer, as an officer of the Court, and as a responsible member of the House of Representatives, we will listen to what the Supreme Court says. we read the decision and the resolution, and we will try to harmonize what we have now and what we read in the resolution of the Supreme Court," she stated.

Zamora also stressed that the House of Representatives followed the existing Rules on Impeachment when it impeached Vice President Duterte last year.

"We followed the rules that were existing at that time. Meaning, we followed the Constitution, we followed the Rules of the House, we followed the Francisco case and the Gutierrez case of the Supreme Court. And that is why we had that impeachment complaint filed by one-third, or more than one-third of Congress then," she explained.

When asked how the Supreme Court ruling will affect the pending impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Zamora replied: "The resolution has no effect on the impeachment of the President."

"First, the President is sought to be impeached by two groups by the filing of complaints and these were endorsed. And these complaints have now been referred to the Committee on Justice. So iba po 'yung proseso naman nito. This is under the first mode of impeachment, whereas the impeachment last year of the Vice President is under the second mode of impeachment. So wala naman pong mababago doon," she said.

As vice chairperson of the House justice committee, Zamora can participate and vote on matters taken up by the the committee.

The Justice Committee has sent out notices to its members of their meeting on February 2 to deliberate on the impeachment complaints against the President. 

'Judicial overreach'

Meanwhile, a lawmaker who endorsed the first impeachment complaint filed against Duterte called the SC ruling a "judicial overreach" and warned that other impeachable officials may avoid impeachment proceedings by seeking "refuge" with the Supreme Court.

"Itong nangyari ngang decision ng Supreme Court, naging refuge siya, magiging refuge siya ng mga makakasuhan ng impeachment sa mga susunod na panahon," House Deputy Minority Leader and Akbayan Party-list Rep Perci Cendaña said in an online interview.

(The decision of the SC could be a refuge for those who will be subject of impeachment complaints in the future.)

Cendaña said the House may amend its Rules on Impeachment to ensure this does not happen.

But he also stressed that amending the rules does not mean the House agrees with the decision.

"So while we are revising our rules to comply with the Supreme Court decision, we have to ensure the technical and legal guardrails put by the SC won't be used as an escape route for those who abuse power," he added.

The Makabayan bloc, composed of House Deputy Minority  Leader and Act Teachers Party-list Rep Antonio Tinio, House Assistant Minority Leader and Kabataan Party-ist Rep Renee Co, and Gabriela Party-list Rep Sarah Elago, also saw the SC ruling as a "judicial overreach."

"The danger in the Supreme Court's ruling on the Duterte impeachment is that it appears to be changing the rules on impeachment as the process unfolds. This constitutes judicial overreach and sets a bad precedent where judicial intervention occurs every time a complaint is filed against an impeachable official," the Makabayan bloc said in a statement today.

In an online interview Friday morning, Tinio said the SC ruling on the definition of "session days" does not necessarily favor impeachable officials.

"Not necessarily pabor siya sa mga (in favor of) impeachable officials. Actually what it does is pinabibilis yung (hasten the) impeachment process as a whole," Tinio said.

Tinio believes that the Supreme Court's definition of "session days" will speed up the impeachment process.

Both Cendaña and Tinio bared that several citizens are already planning to file an impeachment complaint against the vice president once the one-year bar expires next month.

The lawmakers said they are willing to endorse the impeachment complaints that will be filed against the vice president. —AOL, GMA Integrated News