MANILA — The House of Representatives will adhere to the Supreme Court’s updated rules in handling any impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno said Friday.

In a press briefing, Puno said lawmakers are expected to adopt a slower, more deliberate approach, giving greater weight to due process and the completeness of documents before moving a case forward.

“Any further impeachment complaints will have to follow the process now under the new guidelines of the Supreme Court decision. In other words, things like kailangan na sabihan mo ‘yung akusado kung ano ‘yung mga charges (you have to inform the accused on the charges), they will be given an opportunity to answer,” he said.

“I think what the Supreme Court decision did was it reduced the political character of impeachment and made it more of a judicial process,” Puno added.

He noted that the situation involving the Vice President differs from that of the President, emphasizing that the complaint against Duterte had already undergone thorough investigation in the Quad Committee on good government and public accountability.

“The case against Vice President Sara, talagang na-imbestigahan na nang husto ‘yan… and then specific grounds were already stated in the complaint before,” he said.

On the other hand, Puno described any potential complaint against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as “only speculative,” adding, “Has there been any complaint (against him) that has been serious? Parang wala (There’s nothing there).”

Puno said the ruling requires lawmakers, particularly those in the majority, to exercise restraint, scrutiny, and patience rather than act under pressure. Previously, impeachment cases could advance quickly once a complaint secured sufficient signatures, but the Supreme Court’s decision has tightened the process, making it harder to fast-track cases through mere numbers.

“Because of these added conditions, efforts to fast-track an impeachment case to the Senate through a sudden show of signatures would be difficult to pull off under the new framework,” he said.