THE House of Representatives will comply with a Supreme Court (SC) directive requiring it to submit additional sworn information related to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, House spokesperson Atty. Princess Abante said Friday.
Abante confirmed that the House received a copy of the high court’s July 8 resolution in G.R. Nos. 278353 and 278359, which cover the petitions filed by Duterte and her lawyer, Atty. Israelito Torreon, challenging the constitutionality and process of the ongoing impeachment proceedings before the Senate.
“The House of Representatives and Secretary-General Reginald S. Velasco, as respondents in the said petitions, have been required to submit the additional information enumerated in the resolution, and will comply accordingly,” Abante said.
She added that the matter has been referred to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which is representing the House in the case.
“We have already referred the resolution to the Office of the Solicitor General, as our counsel, and shall coordinate closely with the OSG to ensure the submission of the required information within the non-extendible period of 10 days provided by the Supreme Court,” she said.
In its resolution, the SC directed both the House of Representatives and the Senate to submit, under oath and with supporting documents if available, detailed information on the filing and processing of the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
The high tribunal emphasized that its directive was issued “without prejudice to the resolution of other issues” raised in the petitions.
The House impeached Vice President Duterte in February, citing multiple grounds, including the alleged misuse of P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days in December 2022.
In total, the complaint questioned her handling of P612.5 million in confidential funds across the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
The House adopted seven Articles of Impeachment, including charges of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, grave abuse of discretion, obstruction of legislative oversight, and repeated misuse of public funds.
The articles were endorsed by 215 House members, surpassing the one-third constitutional threshold.
The Senate convened as an impeachment court last month. The trial has yet to begin.
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