FACT CHECK: No new SC decision stopping VP Sara’s impeachment trial

Duterte's impeachment trial is ongoing; the most recent Supreme Court ruling dismissed petitions questioning the Senate court’s ruling on an adjusted conviction voting threshold

AT A GLANCE

• A claim circulating on social media falsely states that the Supreme Court has halted the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
• The Supreme Court's recent ruling on September 30 dismissed petitions related to the impeachment trial, allowing it to proceed with adjusted voting thresholds.
• The misleading claim likely references an old Supreme Court ruling from April 2025, which does not affect the current impeachment proceedings.

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Claim: A new Supreme Court (SC) ruling has been issued halting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook reel bearing the claim has already received 79,000 views, 4,600 reactions, 1,100 shares, and 87 comments as of writing. It was posted on October 1 and continues to gain traction up to this date. 

The video shows a photo of Duterte and the logo of the SC with the text, “Game over!! Basahin (Read) Breaking news game over na? | Supreme Court junks petition to force Senate to hold impeachment trial vs VP Sara Duterte.” 

The person talking in the Facebook reel further claims that Duterte is set to replace Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as president following the SC ruling.

“Good news sa lahat ng mga Pilipino, ayan basahin niyo. Wala na, game over na. Si Inday Sara Duterte na ang susunod na pangulo sa bansang Pilipinas,” he said.

(Good news for all Filipinos, read this. It’s a done deal, it’s game over. Inday Sara Duterte will be the next president of the Philippines.)

The facts: The High Court did not issue any recent decision stopping the impeachment trial.  The latest decision from the SC on September 30 dismissed the petition questioning the Senate impeachment court’s ruling that adjusted the voting threshold for Duterte’s conviction. 

The SC unanimously dismissed the three petitions for lack of legal standing and prematurity, since the trial had yet to reach a final judgment.

The ruling allows the impeachment court to proceed on a basis that adjusts the number of votes needed for conviction, depending on the number of senators who can take part in the impeachment proceedings.

“Two petitions were filed — one was [for] a TRO, and the other was a prayer for status quo ante order. Both were dismissed by the SC, so that means the trial will continue… This also goes to show that the High Court respects the rulings of the impeachment court,” Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said. 

Exclusion of members: Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution states that the conviction of an impeachable official requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.

On September 23, the Senate impeachment court amended its voting threshold. Instead of the Senate’s full 24-member membership as the baseline for determining the two-thirds vote needed to convict Duterte, the impeachment court ruled that it would only count the votes of senator-judges who are “legally and factually capable” of participating in the proceedings. 

This effectively excludes senators who are detained, suspended, or restrained from performing their duties; whose whereabouts are unknown despite being sought by authorities; who are physically or medically incapacitated; who fall beyond the Senate’s power to compel cooperation; and those in similar circumstances.

Old SC ruling: The misleading Facebook reel is likely referring to an old SC ruling issued in April last year, which dismissed a petition that sought to compel the Senate to act “forthwith” on Duterte’s impeachment back in 2025.

The High Court deemed the petition moot as the Senate had already begun preparations for the impeachment. (READ: What does ‘forthwith’ mean in impeachment? SC defines in new ruling.)

The misleading video falsely framed this old SC ruling as a recent decision, but it has no bearing on the ongoing impeachment trial.

Previous fact checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about Duterte’s impeachment: 

• FACT CHECK: No SC order dismissing ongoing impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara 
• FACT CHECK: No SC order junking current impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara 
• FACT CHECK: Post cites 2025 SC ruling to falsely claim VP Sara impeachment trial to be halted 
• FACT CHECK: No DOJ, SC order to stop Duterte impeachment; trial ongoing 
• FACT CHECK: Chief Justice Gesmundo did not approve 13-vote threshold for VP Sara’s conviction 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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