Ibinasura ng Quezon City Regional Trial Court ang petisyon ni lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio na pigilan ang impeachment proceedings laban sa kanyang asawa na si Vice President Sara Duterte.
Sa five-page order na may petsang May 6, 2026, sinabi ng Quezon City RTC Branch 81 na wala itong hurisdiksyon sa petition for prohibition ni Carpio. Isinulat ang ruling ni Presiding Judge Madonna C. Echiverri.
“The petition for prohibition is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. The prayer for issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction is DENIED,” saad ng court ruling na natanggap ng House of Representatives.
Tinanggihan din ng korte ang hiling ni Carpio para sa writ of preliminary injunction laban kina Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, House Committee on Justice chair Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Reyes-Luistro, at Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza.
Layunin ng petisyon na pigilan sana ang House justice panel sa pagpapatupad ng subpoenas at iba pang hakbang na konektado sa impeachment complaints laban kay Duterte, lalo na matapos humingi ang komite ng tax records at iba pang dokumentong umano’y kaugnay ng Vice President at kanyang asawa.
Pero sinabi ng RTC na ang House panel ay gumaganap ng kapangyarihang ibinigay ng Constitution at hindi maaaring pigilan sa pamamagitan ng prohibition o injunction.
“Respondents do not usurp but are in fact, as members of HCOJ are, by law, constituted to determine the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint against the Vice-President and eventually the determination of probable cause for the filing of the case to the Senate,” saad ng order.
Binanggit ng korte ang Article XI ng 1987 Constitution, na nagbibigay sa House ng “exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.”
Kinatigan din ng RTC ang subpoena powers ng committee. Ayon sa korte, bahagi ito ng inherent authority ng panel sa pagganap ng impeachment proceedings.
“Thus, the issuance of the subpoena duces tecum ad testificandum is an inherent power of the Committee, which is validly created by law, to carry out this constitutional mandate effectively in the conduct of its hearing,” saad ng korte.
Tinanggihan din ng RTC ang argumento ni Carpio na walang hurisdiksyon ang House panel sa kanya o sa mga dokumentong umano’y konektado sa kanya at sa Vice President.
“Prohibition issues only against usurpers or those who exercise power which have not been vested by law,” ayon sa ruling.
Iginiit pa ng korte na hindi maaaring gamitin ang injunction para hadlangan ang House panel sa paggampan ng constitutional functions nito.
“To enjoin the public individuals in the performance of their duty in the determination of the sufficiency of the impeachment complaint is to prevent said body to exercise its quasi-judicial or ministerial functions,” saad ng order.
Ibinasura rin ng RTC ang motion ni Carpio na hilinging bigyang judicial notice ang news reports at YouTube videos kaugnay ng House hearings.
“Newspaper articles amount to ‘hearsay evidence, twice removed’ and are therefore not only inadmissible but without any probative value at all whether objected to or not,” ayon sa korte.
Sinabi rin ng RTC na dapat sa Supreme Court inihain ang petisyon dahil ang respondents ay kumikilos bilang bahagi ng co-equal branch of government.
“In the case at bench, the respondents are acting in the official capacity as part of the HCOJ, a co-equal branch of the government hence, the case at bench should have been filed with the Supreme Court,” saad ng order.
Lumabas ang ruling matapos unanimous na makahanap ng probable cause ang House Committee on Justice para i-impeach si Duterte at aprubahan ang Articles of Impeachment para iakyat sa plenaryo. Inaasahang boboto ang plenaryo sa May 11. /Bistado