In a resolution dated October 14, 2026, the Supreme Court en banc ordered the respondents to address the petition and the request for a status quo ante order, temporary restraining order (TRO), and writ of preliminary injunction.
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The petition was filed by Senators Robinhood Padilla and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, in their capacities as senators and senator-judges of the Senate impeachment court.
The respondents include the Senate, represented by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Senate President Pro Tempore Francis Escudero, and the House of Representatives, represented by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and its prosecution panel led by Representative Gerville Luistro.
In a statement, petitioners’ legal counsel, Atty. Israelito P. Torreon, welcomed the High Court’s directive, describing it as an indication that the issue deserves serious and urgent consideration.
Torreon noted that earlier petitions questioning the same ruling were dismissed outright, while their petition was referred to the respondents for comment.
However, he acknowledged that the latest resolution does not mean the petition has been given due course or that the Court has granted the requested interim relief.
He said their petition centers on the constitutional requirement that conviction in an impeachment trial must have the concurrence of “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”
According to Torreon, the word “all” means the entire membership of the Senate, including senators who may be detained, ill or absent. He argued that only death, resignation, expulsion or other lawful removal changes a senator’s membership.
With 24 incumbent senators, Torreon maintained that 16 votes are necessary for conviction, citing the Senate’s initial ruling on the matter at the start of the trial, which he said remained in effect for more than two months before being changed during the proceedings.
“We are not asking the Court to decide whether the Vice President is guilty or innocent. That remains with the Senate,” Torreon said.
He added that the petition seeks to ensure that the Senate applies the constitutional requirement on membership consistently, stressing that the issue goes beyond the impeachment case against Duterte.
“This is not about one case or one official. It is about whether a constitutional safeguard can be lowered by a simple majority whenever the numbers become inconvenient,” he said.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the merits of the petition or on the request for interim relief. Its directive to submit comments does not, by itself, suspend the impeachment proceedings.
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