MANILA - The Philippine Supreme Court has blocked the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice-President Sara Duterte, citing a violation of the constitutional one-year ban on filing multiple impeachment complaints against a public official, the High Court announced Friday after a special en banc session.

However, the High Court said that it is not absolving Duterte of the charges, adding that a new impeachment complaint may be filed no earlier than Feb 6, 2026.

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"The SC has ruled that the House impeachment complaint versus VP Sara Duterte is barred by the one-year rule and that due process or fairness applies in all stages of the impeachment process," Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting told a press conference.

With the impeachment declared unconstitutional, Ting said the Senate cannot acquire jurisdiction over the case, meaning the Senate cannot proceed with the impeachment trial.

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"Our fundamental law is clear, the end does not justify the means ... there is a right way to do the right things at the right time," Ting added, quoting the decision, which was unanimous. Associate Justices Benjamin Caguioa and Maria Filomena Singh inhibited.

There's a one-year bar rule in the 1987 Constitution, which states that "impeachment proceedings cannot be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year."

The House of Representatives filed four impeachment complaints against Duterte within three months.

The first was lodged on Dec 2, 2024, detailing 24 articles grouped into four main categories: graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

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Two additional complaints were filed on Dec 4 and Dec 19, 2024, respectively.

The fourth impeachment complaint was filed on Feb 5, 2025, endorsed by 215 members of the House of Representatives.

Duterte, through her lawyers, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in February, asking the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order shortly after the House of Representatives impeached her.

The Supreme Court decision was announced as the Senate set to begin Duterte's impeachment trial on Aug 4, a week after the 20th Congress opened on Monday, July 28.