The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a petition seeking to compel the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte.
The petition for mandamus, filed by Catalino Aldea Generillo Jr., was denied in a 14-0-1 decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda. The Court ruled that mandamus was not the proper remedy, stressing that “the Senate’s actions within its sphere cannot be revised or controlled by the judicial department.”
The SC also treated the petition as one for certiorari but found no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Senate, noting that it acted within a reasonable timeframe.
The Court explained that while the Constitution requires the House of Representatives to act on impeachment complaints within a specific number of session days, it does not set a fixed timeline for the Senate to begin trial proceedings. It only states that the trial “shall forthwith proceed,” leaving the timing to the Senate’s discretion.
The term “forthwith,” under Article XI, Section 3(4) of the Constitution, was interpreted to mean within a reasonable time, depending on the circumstances of each case.
However, the SC emphasized that the Senate must still avoid undue delay to uphold the constitutional principle that public officials are accountable to the people.