The Supreme Court struck down the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Dutere and the progressives are not happy.
Reacting to the decision announced on Friday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said they are extremely dismayed, adding it is indeed extremely difficult to exact accountability from corrupt public officials in the Philippines.
“The decision gives legal basis to efforts by Malacañang and Senate to scuttle the impeachment trial since February,” Tinio said.
The lawmaker however said the vice president should not celebrate her temporary victory because the Filipino people would continue to demand accountability for her alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Tinio’s predecessor, former ACT Rep. France Castro, was instrumental in revealing Duterte’s reported misuse of the funds while concurrent Department of Education secretary.
IBON Foundation also slammed the high court’s decision it described as “impunity at the highest levels.”
“They can get away with high-level corruption? Yes, we need regime change,” IBON said.
The SC said the impeachment complaint against the vice president is “unconstitutional” for violating the one year rule.
“In a unanimous decision today, July 25, 2025, the Supreme Court en banc declared the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional,” SC spokesperson Camille Ting said.
Three impeachment complaints were filed by various groups against Duterte at the House of Representatives (HOR) which eventually decided to approve a fourth and “consolidated” complaint that was transmitted to the Senate last February.
The Court however said it was not absolving Duterte of the charges that included amassing unusual wealth and threatening to kill Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and HOR Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Rey Cortez said the court decision is not a declaration of innocence, nor a finding of lack of culpability.
“The Vice-President is being absolved from accountability on technical grounds,” Atty.Cortez clarified in a Facebook post.
“Justice is indeed blind. It favors the plunderers and the oppressors, and unmindful of the plight of the oppressed and the unjustly accused,” he added.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co also said the fight is not over.
“In the end, the people would judge on the streets,” the young legislator said.
“See you at the People’s SONA (State of the Nation Address) protests,” she added, referring to the rallies coinciding with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s speech before Congress on Monday, July 28. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)