House Committee on Justice chairperson Gerville Luistro clarified that filing additional impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte is not yet prohibited, as the one-year bar rule has not taken effect.
Luistro explained that the prohibition period only begins once an impeachment complaint is formally referred by the plenary to the Justice committee.
“So long as wala pang nire-refer sa Justice committee, they are still free to do so. Wala pang nag-o-operate na one-year prohibition period,” she said.
She noted that the first two complaints have already been transmitted by the Office of the Secretary General to the Office of the Speaker, but none has yet been referred to the committee.
Under House rules, the Speaker has 10 session days to include a complaint in the plenary’s Order of Business, after which it must be referred to the Justice committee within three session days.
Because no referral has taken place, Luistro said the fast-track option remains available.
This mechanism allows the filing of a complaint endorsed by at least one-third of House members, enabling the immediate transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.