MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte’s move to halt impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives is aimed at clarifying constitutional issues, not avoiding the process, her legal team said.

In a statement confirming the filing of a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court of the Philippines dated March 30, Duterte’s camp stressed that the move was meant to question the legality of the proceedings.

“To be clear, this is not about avoiding the process,” her team said.

“This is about ensuring that the process itself complies with the Constitution. The House has the power to initiate impeachment, but that power is not without limits,” it added.

The vice president is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the House and its justice panel from continuing impeachment hearings.

She is also asking the High Court to issue a final injunction declaring as unconstitutional the impeachment proceedings stemming from the Saballa and Cabrera complaints, and to bar both the House and the Senate from carrying out actions related to the case.

Her legal team said it would refrain from discussing further details publicly out of respect for the High Court.

Meanwhile, Terry Ridon, chair of the House public accounts committee and a member of the House justice panel, defended the proceedings and accused Duterte of misleading both the court and the public.

Ridon said the petition “is anchored on a misrepresentation of facts and a distorted interpretation of the Constitution and prevailing jurisprudence.”

“It is a clear attempt to mislead the Supreme Court and the public,” he added, disputing claims that the impeachment complaints were not properly referred in plenary.

“The official video footage of the February 23, 2026 plenary session, at 3:48 p.m., clearly shows that the referral of the four impeachment complaints was carried out by the House of Representatives in plenary, in accordance with Section 3(2), Article XI of the Constitution,” Ridon said.