BY FILING BEFORE the Supreme Court a petition to declare the ongoing impeachment proceedings as unconstitutional, Vice President Sara Duterte is flaunting before the citizens the indebtedness of the magistrates to her dad for appointing them to the High Tribunal.
What VP Sara actually wanted is for the high tribunal to convey a strong statement that would somehow decimate an equal branch branch — the Philippine Congress.
Should she get what she prays for, then it would deepen her sense of impunity, which is dangerous should she get voted to the highest seat of the land in 2028.
She is showing her intense fear of being exposed and asked to explain her ill-gotten wealth during her entire term as a public servant (from vice mayor to mayor to vice president) as her SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth) is now being scrutinized and her bank accounts have been summoned by the justice committee of the House of Representatives.
The VP has often declared that she does not explain herself to anyone and has shown in her words and deeds that she is above the law and would not recognize anything to stop her from doing what she wants.
By threatening the life of the President, the First Lady and the former Speaker of the House, she has shown that her lack of respect for the law and the hierarchy is her true nature and no one can change that. Gosh, imagine what her presidency would look like– we might be all declared dead if we disobey her arrogance, whims and caprices.
To be perfectly candid about this one, there is an explanation behind the vice president’s arrogance and a sense of distorted entitlement.
Sara is petitioning for injunction orders for each and every case against her, before a court that is predominantly composed of Supreme Court Justices who were appointed by his father — former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The composition of the current SC justices and their appointing powers as of early 2026 are:
● Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on April 5, 2021
Associate Justices (in order of seniority/appointment)
● Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen: Appointed by Benigno Aquino III on Nov 11, 2012
● Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa: Appointed by Benigno Aquino III on Jan 22, 2016
● Associate JusticeRamon Paul L. Hernando: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Aug 27, 2018
● Associate JusticeAmy C. Lazaro-Javier: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on March 6, 2019
● Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on May 27, 2019
● Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Dec 5, 2019
● Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Jan 8, 2020
● Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Oct 8, 2020
● Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Jan 26, 2021
● Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on July 2, 2021
● Associate Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on Sept 27, 2021
● Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr.: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte Feb 23, 2022
● Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh: Appointed by Rodrigo Duterte on May 18, 2022
● Associate Justice Raul B. Villanueva: Appointed by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on June 9, 2025
Interestingly, the chief magistrate (Gesmundo) is set to retire on November 6, 2026.
The only Duterte-appointed associate justices who is set to retire this year is Javier. She’ll step down in November this year.
Associate Justice Inting’s term expires in September next year, while Gaerlan and Rosario are ending their tour in 2028. The others are retiring from 2033 to 2036.
Under the Constitution, all justices are appointed by the President from a list of nominees submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
VP Sara’s 58-page petition for certiorari and prohibition argued that the impeachment proceedings initiated against her are unconstitutional and should therefore be declared void ab initio.
She is being represented in the impeachment hearings by 16 lawyers to handle her defense in the impeachment proceedings, largely sourced from the highly paid law firms Fortun Narvasa & Salazar. The team includes notable lawyers such as Philip Sigfrid Fortun, Gregorio Narvasa II, and former DEP Ed spokesman Michael Poa, with appearances officially entered in the Senate.
She snubbed the first hearing and is expected to continue doing so because she disdains explaining herself to anyone, especially those she deem beneath her position.
The Vice President has vehemently claimed that the process conducted by the House of Representatives and the committee on justice is “marred by grave abuse of discretion,” beginning with the referral of her impeachment complaints to the committee on justice.
She pointed out that the House of Representatives failed to act as a collective body when referring the complaints, and was instead performed by Committee on Rules—a move she says violates Section 3(2), Article XI of the Constitution.
Duterte then claimed that two of the complaints against her—the Saballa and Cabrera complaints—violated the one-year ban rule under the 1987 Constitution.
She accused the House committee on justice of encroaching on the power of the Senate, noting that the Committee chairperson openly described their proceedings as a “mini-trial,” the Inquirer reported.
“…The proceedings conducted by respondent Committee on Justice remarkably show grave abuse of discretion and reek of double standards in the treatment of impeachment complaints referred to it, and evince a clear fishing expedition, resulting in the violation of petitioner’s constitutional rights to due process, presumption of innocence, and equal protection of the laws,” her petition read.
Duterte’s petition for certiorari claimed “double standards” in how the House dealt with the impeachment complaints against her and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
With this, Duterte asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order, as well as a writ of preliminary injunction against the House of Representatives and the committee on justice from proceeding with the proceedings.
She also asked the SC to declare as void and unconstitutional rules Sections 7 and 8 of the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings, which were adopted by the 20th Congress, as well as the “guidelines” issued by the House committee on justice.
She also sought the SC’s help in issuing a final injunction to nullify the impeachment proceedings relating to the complaints against her “for being unconstitutional,” and to prevent Congress from taking any further actions on the complaints.