A fourth legal challenge has reached the Supreme Court as lawyers Hue Jyro Go, Micah De Guzman, and Jake Leoncini filed a 34-page petition seeking to halt the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The petitioners urged the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or writ of preliminary injunction to stop the House of Representatives from acting further on the third and fourth impeachment complaints. They also asked the Court to annul earlier House rulings that deemed the complaints sufficient in form and substance.
The lawyers argued that the House has exceeded its constitutional authority by actively seeking evidence beyond the original filings.
“Its successive issuance of subpoenas, reception of materials outside the complaints, and resort to third-party record-gathering reveal an unmistakable attempt to search for, assemble, and construct evidence not found in the complaints themselves,” the petition read. “These acts constitute nothing less than a fishing expedition for evidence.”
Central to their challenge is the claim that the House’s use of subpoena power violates the Constitution and Impeachment Rules.
They cited the request for Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) over several years as “patently overbroad,” arguing that the records bear no clear link to the allegations.
Beyond technical issues, the petitioners raised concerns about impartiality, pointing to hostile public statements from lawmakers.
“The totality of these circumstances demonstrates not the sobriety expected of impeachment under the Constitution, but a process increasingly marked by predisposition, ridicule, and active case-building—thus amounting to grave abuse of discretion,” the petition read.
This filing follows three earlier petitions submitted by Vice President Duterte herself, as well as other groups of lawyers and private citizens.
The Supreme Court has already directed the House of Representatives and its Committee on Justice to file comments on the pending challenges.