Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong on Wednesday said some members of the House minority were already positioning themselves to file a new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, even as the House majority maintains that legal barriers remain.
In a television interview, Adiong said the majority bloc has not taken up any fresh impeachment initiative, citing unresolved constitutional and procedural issues.
“On the part of the majority, we still maintain our position that there is a pending motion for reconsideration and that the one-year ban remains in effect,” he said, referring to the House motion filed before the Supreme Court.
Adiong noted the Constitution bars the filing of more than one impeachment complaint against the same official within a one-year period, a restriction he said still applies while the high court has yet to rule on the motion for reconsideration.
Despite this, he said signals from the minority bloc were becoming clear.
“But there were already some members of the 20th Congress, particularly from the minority bloc, who are now saying that they’re positioning themselves to file another impeachment complaint,” Adiong said.
For now, he said House leadership remains focused on legislative priorities, particularly the national budget.
“So far, wala pa naman sa amin sa House leadership and sa majority caucus, hindi namin napagusapan yung impeachment because we were focused on the budget, how we can cross this over to the ratification point,” he said.
Adiong added that his support for any future impeachment effort would depend on the substance of the allegations.
“If the complaint in the previous Congress would still be the same, yes,” he said, stressing that his stance is based on alleged constitutional violations rather than personalities.
In a July 25, 2025 ruling, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the earlier impeachment complaint against Duterte over alleged misuse of confidential funds and other charges, effectively barring any refiling until February 6, 2026.
The House appealed the decision in August 2025, asserting its constitutional authority to initiate impeachment proceedings.