QC court junks petition to halt House impeachment vs Sara Duterte

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has junked the petition filed by lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, seeking to stop the ongoing impeachment proceedings against her.

The five-page resolution, dated May 6, 2026 and signed by Presiding Judge Madonna Echiverri of Quezon City RTC Branch 81, said the judiciary cannot interfere with the impeachment power exercised by the House of Representatives.

It also denied Carpio’s plea for a writ of preliminary injunction against Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, House Committee on Justice (HCOJ) chair Batangas Rep. Gerville Reyes-Luistro, and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza.

“The petition for prohibition is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. The prayer for issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction is DENIED,” the resolution read.

“Respondents do not usurp but are in fact, as members of HCOJ are, by law, constituted to determine the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint against the Vice-President and eventually the determination of probable cause for the filing of the case to the Senate,” it added.

Citing Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the Quezon City RTC stressed that the House has the “exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.”

It also confirmed that the House justice committee has the power to issue subpoenas, saying this authority is part of its role in conducting impeachment proceedings.

“Thus, the issuance of the subpoena duces tecum ad testificandum is an inherent power of the Committee, which is validly created by law, to carry out this constitutional mandate effectively in the conduct of its hearing,” the resolution stated.

The Quezon City RTC also rejected Carpio’s argument that the House had no jurisdiction over him or over documents allegedly linked to him and Duterte.

It said the injunctions cannot be used to prevent the House panel from carrying out its functions.

“To enjoin the public individuals in the performance of their duty in the determination of the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint is to prevent said body to exercise its quasi-judicial or ministerial functions,” the resolution read.

The court also denied Carpio’s request for the RTC to take judicial notice of news reports and YouTube videos related to the House hearings.

“Newspaper articles amount to ‘hearsay evidence, twice removed’ and are therefore not only inadmissible but without any probative value at all whether objected to or not,” the court said.

It added that the petition should have been filed before the Supreme Court since the respondents are co-equal branches of the government.

Carpio's complaint contains alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Law, the Data Privacy Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as amended for the disclosure of Carpio and Duterte's bank transactions during the House justice panel impeachment hearing on April 22.

Via unanimous vote, the House Committee on Justice found probable cause to impeach Duterte anew based on two impeachment complaints filed against her this year.

The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President accuse her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts:

• Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds and using them as bribes
• Threatening to kill President Marcos, Jr. and his family, including her desire to remove the head of the Chief Executive
• Alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth

—RF, GMA News