Supreme Court Did Not Order Junking of VP Sara's Impeachment Proceedings

A claim circulating on social media that the Supreme Court (SC) has issued an order to nullify the impeachment proceedings against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte is false, Rappler has found. The video bearing the claim has already received 1,100 views, 34 shares, and 9 comments as of writing. It was posted on July 7, amid Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial at the Senate. The video’s narrator says, “Ayan mga boss, panoorin natin, naglabas na ang Supreme Court na ipawalang-bisa ang articles of impeachment laban kay VP Sara.” (There you have it, folks, let’s take a look: the Supreme Court has issued a ruling to void the articles of impeachment against VP Sara). The video then shows a news report that begins, “Binasura ng Korte Suprema ang petisyon na naglalayong pilitin ang Senado na agad na mag-convene bilang impeachment court laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte.” (The Supreme Court dismissed the petition seeking to compel the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court against Vice President Sara Duterte.) Some Facebook users in the comment section believed that the dismissal of the petition directly nullifies the ongoing impeachment trial against Duterte. The facts: There is no order from the SC nullifying the current impeachment proceedings against Duterte at the Senate. The decision cited in the post refers to the SC’s denial of a petition filed in February 2025 urging the High Court to compel the Senate to immediately act on Duterte’s impeachment in 2025. The SC issued its decision in April 2026, saying that the Senate acted on the impeachment complaint in a timely manner and that the term “forthwith” in the Constitution means “within a reasonable time, which may be longer or shorter, depending on the circumstances of each case.” This SC decision referred to the impeachment proceedings against Duterte in 2025, and does not nullify the ongoing impeachment trial which is based on a new set of complaints filed in February 2026. Duterte’s impeachment: It can be recalled that Duterte was impeached twice by the House of Representative. The lower chamber first impeached her in February 2025, but the SC later declared the articles of impeachment unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule.After the SC upheld this decision in January 2026, new complaints against the Vice President were filed in February, and Duterte was impeached again by the House in May. The new articles of impeachment are currently being heard in the Senate, convening as an impeachment court, since July 6. Duterte is facing allegations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and alleged threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez. Previous fact checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about Duterte’s impeachment: FACT CHECK: VP Sara’s counsel Sheila Sison not the daughter of lawyer Jose Sison FACT CHECK: VP Sara’s impeachment case not dismissed, trial starts July 6 FACT CHECK: No SC order blocking 2026 impeachment proceedings vs Duterte FACT CHECK: No Marcos order to stop impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara – 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.