Fact Check: False claim of DOJ, SC order to stop VP Duterte impeachment trial spreads

A false claim circulating on social media in the Philippines alleges that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has been stopped by orders from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Supreme Court (SC). Rappler's fact-checking has rated this claim as FALSE. The video carrying the claim, posted on July 9, has garnered significant attention, accumulating over 2.2 million views, 62,800 reactions, 12,000 shares, and 7,500 comments as of writing. It features a narrator stating that the DOJ allegedly ordered a halt to the impeachment proceedings. The video also includes a news report that began, “Binasura ng Korte Suprema ang motion for reconsideration ng House of Representatives at pinagtibay ang nauna nitong deklarasyon na labag sa saligang batas ang articles of impeachment laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte at walang hurisdiksyon ang Senado na ipagpatuloy ang proceeding.” (The Supreme Court denied the House of Representatives’ motion for reconsideration and upheld its earlier declaration that the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte were unconstitutional and that the Senate lacked jurisdiction to continue the proceedings.) Some Facebook users believed the news report was referring to Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial. One commenter wrote, “Salamat lord hindi na tuloy (Thank you, Lord, it’s not pushing through anymore).” However, the news report cited refers to a Supreme Court decision issued in January 2026 regarding a previous impeachment drive against the Vice President in 2025. It can be recalled that Duterte was first impeached on February 5, 2025. The SC later said in a July 2025 ruling the impeachment complaint was unconstitutional because of the one-year bar rule. The High Court reaffirmed this in its January 2026 decision. New impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in February 2026. In May 2026, she was impeached by the House of Representatives for the second time, with the Vice President facing allegations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez. These articles of impeachment form the basis of the trial currently being held at the Senate, which began on July 6. There is no SC decision halting the ongoing impeachment trial. Contrary to the claim, the DOJ cannot issue any order stopping the impeachment proceedings. According to Article XI, Section 3(1) of the 1987 Constitution, impeachment is an exclusive power of Congress. The House of Representatives has the authority to initiate all cases of impeachment while the Senate has the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. The power of the SC, on the other hand, is limited only to impeachment-related matters in cases involving grave abuse of discretion, such as violations of constitutional limits like the one-year bar rule. Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about Duterte and her impeachment: FACT CHECK: Lacson quote on 14-vote threshold for VP Sara impeachment is fake FACT CHECK: VP Sara’s impeachment case not dismissed, trial starts July 6 FACT CHECK: OVP’s unmodified opinion from COA doesn’t ‘clear’ VP Sara FACT CHECK: Sotto did not say 11 votes are enough to convict VP Sara FACT CHECK: COA did not say Sara Duterte has a ‘clean record’ – 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. Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at [email protected]. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.