A claim circulating online suggests that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Supreme Court (SC) have halted the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. This assertion has been rated as FALSE.
The video promoting this claim has gained significant traction, with millions of views and numerous interactions. It features a narrator stating that the DOJ has ordered a stop to the impeachment proceedings. The video then presents a news report with a Filipino translation indicating that the Supreme Court dismissed a motion for reconsideration from the House of Representatives, reaffirming its previous declaration that the impeachment articles against Vice President Duterte were unconstitutional and that the Senate lacked jurisdiction. This led some viewers to believe the report applied to Duterte’s current impeachment trial.
However, the presented information is misleading. There is no directive from the DOJ or the Supreme Court to cease the ongoing impeachment trial. The news report cited in the claim actually refers to a Supreme Court decision from January 2026 concerning a prior impeachment attempt against the Vice President in 2025.
Historically, Vice President Duterte was impeached on February 5, 2025. The Supreme Court ruled in July 2025 that the impeachment complaint was unconstitutional due to the one-year bar rule, a decision it reaffirmed in January 2026.
New impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in February 2026, leading to her second impeachment by the House of Representatives in May 2026. These articles of impeachment, which include allegations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and threats, are the basis for the current impeachment trial in the Senate, which commenced on July 6. The Supreme Court has not issued any decision to halt this ongoing trial.
Furthermore, the DOJ does not possess the authority to stop impeachment proceedings. The 1987 Constitution clearly designates impeachment as an exclusive power of Congress. The House of Representatives initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate conducts the trials. The Supreme Court’s role is limited to reviewing impeachment-related matters in cases of grave abuse of discretion, such as constitutional violations like the one-year bar rule.
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