Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon expressed confidence Sunday that the Supreme Court will dismiss a petition seeking to halt the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte in the House of Representatives.
Ridon said in a radio interview:
“Ito ay isang petisyon na, sa tingin ko, ibabasura ng Korte Suprema dahil wala namang ligal na personalidad itong mga abogado at alyado ng Pangalawang Pangulo na magsampa ng kasong ito.”
The lawmaker explained that such petitions must be grounded on proper legal standing.
He noted:
“Ang sinasabi nila, nagpa-file sila bilang taxpayers. Hindi pwede ‘yun. Kapag taxpayers’ suits, kailangan ang pinag-uusapan ay disbursement ng public funds, eh impeachment ang pinag-uusapan.”
He added:
“Ang tanging pwedeng mag-challenge ng isang impeachment proceedings ay impeachable official katulad ng Pangalawang Pangulo.”
The petitioners, in a 186-page filing, asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order and declare that the House Committee on Justice committed grave abuse of discretion when it upheld the third and fourth impeachment complaints against Duterte.
They argued the complaints lacked sufficiency in form and substance and should have been dismissed outright.