Almost 40 years after the 1987 Constitution pledged to prohibit political dynasties, the strongest push for action has come, not from Congress, but from the courts. In March 2024, members of the University of the Philippines College of Law Batch ’76 filed a petition for mandamus at the Supreme Court, docketed as G.R. No. 272370....
Tag: Supreme Court
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‘Dysfunctional leadership’ reflected in impeachment complaints against Marcos and Duterte
The filing of impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte reflects “dysfunctional” leadership at the highest level of government, according to Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima. The filings—two each for the two leaders—are also testing the Constitution, rattling investor confidence, and once again turning Congress into an arena for...
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Ombudsman ruling not to prosecute ‘tokhang’ officers seen as a ‘legal paradox’
Lawyers for the sole survivor of an alleged extrajudicial killing by the police during an antidrug operation nine years ago are urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling upholding the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to junk their petition to charge four officers and six civilian informants with multiple murder and frustrated murder. In...
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Carpio urges the Supreme Court to reverse its ‘erroneous’ ruling on the VP’s impeachment
Retired senior associate justice Antonio Carpio is urging the Supreme Court to recognize and accept what he has argued are factual and legal mistakes in nullifying the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, and to reverse its ruling in good faith. Carpio, who served 18 years on the Supreme Court, is a founder...
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Senate ‘kills’ Duterte impeachment case; law expert says accountability mechanisms weakened
The Senate voted on Wednesday night to archive the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, “killing” it before it could reach trial and weakening accountability mechanisms for public officials, a law expert warned. Voting 19-4 with one abstention, the Senate agreed on the amended motion of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta to archive the articles of...
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Five things to watch out for in the 20th Congress
1. Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial: Will it finally happen? The next round of the Marcos-Duterte family feud was expected to play out in Congress. But the Dutertes scored a win—and the possibility of a reprieve until February 2026, or even longer—in Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that temporarily banned an impeachment trial. The Marcos-controlled House...
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Sara’s impeachment trial, Baste’s boxing bout, and the (worsening) floods of our lives
Vice President Sara Duterte and her younger brother, Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte of Davao City, have managed to evade confrontations of their making. The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the verified impeachment complaint transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate in February is unconstitutional, providing the Vice President a reprieve from...
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Supreme Court strikes down impeachment complaint against VP Sara Duterte
The impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte may be dead in the water—for now. The Supreme Court has struck down the complaint as unconstitutional, saying it is barred by the one-year rule on the filing of multiple impeachment complaints. The justices unanimously ruled that the Senate has no jurisdiction over the impeachment complaint seeking...
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‘Sigh of relief’ for high court ruling on grave threat posed by Red-tagging
The Marcos administration should declare that it has no Red-tagging policy following the Supreme Court ruling that deems such action as a threat to the life, liberty and security of those being labelled as communist insurgents. And to further ease the fears of activists and human rights defenders, the government should also abolish the controversial...
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Only Supreme Court can resolve ‘Achilles’ heel’ of Charter change resolutions, legal luminaries say
Only the Supreme Court can resolve the issue of whether Congress should meet jointly and vote separately in the current contentious effort to amend the Constitution, legal luminaries said at a forum held at the University of the Philippines on March 14. “We can save much time and effort if this is resolved once and...