The Supreme Court (SC) en banc, during its session Wednesday acted on the following:

The SC dismissed the consolidated petitions questioning the proceedings before the House of Representatives and its Committee on Justice on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte.

The SC ruled that the issues raised in the petitions had become moot, or no longer required resolution, because the House had already approved and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.

In its Resolution, the SC dismissed the separate petitions filed by lawyer Israelito Torreon and others, and by Vice President Duterte.

The petitioners argued that the House Committee on Justice exceeded its constitutional authority by gathering evidence and compelling witnesses to appear during its initial review of the impeachment complaints. They also questioned the Committee’s findings that the complaints were sufficient in form, substance, and grounds.

The SC explained that the House’s transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment marked the end of the House’s role in the impeachment process and the initiation of the impeachment case. As a result, the actions the petitioner sought to stop had already been completed.

The SC further held that the impeachment process had already moved to the Senate, which had convened as an impeachment court and had begun proceedings.

Any ruling on the validity of the actions taken by the House and its Committee on Justice would no longer affect the controversy.

While the SC recognized that it may, in exceptional cases, decide issues that have become moot, it found that none of the recognized exceptions applied in this case. Courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson