A court has heard oral arguments on a request by Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team to dismiss criminal charges filed against her by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) concerning alleged grave threats.
Defense lawyer Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim confirmed that their team filed a Motion to Quash the Informations, asserting that the court lacks jurisdiction to try the incumbent Vice President while she holds office.
Lim stated that the petition relies on the principle of “limited procedural immunity,” which protects impeachable officials under the 1987 Constitution during their term.
“We confirm that the Honorable Court heard the parties’ oral arguments on our Motion to Quash the Informations for lack of jurisdiction,” Lim said in a statement.
The legal representative noted that the defense rests its argument on the procedural safeguards guaranteed to high-ranking officials throughout their incumbency. However, Lim declined to offer additional details regarding the specifics of their motion due to ongoing judicial deliberations.
“The matter being sub judice, we unfortunately cannot give further explanation,” he added. “We will now await the court’s resolution on our motion.”
The underlying criminal cases stem from an investigation conducted by the NBI into alleged grave threats attributed to Duterte. A motion to quash serves as a procedural remedy to challenge the validity of a criminal charge and request its immediate dismissal prior to trial based on legal grounds such as lack of jurisdiction.
The court’s upcoming ruling will determine whether the criminal proceedings can move forward while Duterte remains in office as Vice President.