Vice President Sara Duterte. File photo

A Mindanao based lawyers and individuals Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order against the conduct of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, citing “defective” articles of impeachment filed submitted before the Senate.

Lawyers Israelito Torreon and Martin Delgra III, in their petition for certiorari and prohibition, argued that the House of Representatives articles of impeachment were issued with grave abuse of discretion.

“This petition likewise prays for the issuance of a writ of prohibition to enjoin and prohibit the Senate of the Philippines from acting on the Articles of Impeachment and from proceeding with the impeachment trial, considering that the initiation of the impeachment complaint was procedurally defective, constitutionally infirm, and jurisdictionally void,” the petitioners said.

Torreon noted that the impeachment complaint was processed without prior committee evaluation and absence or defect in the verification process.

“The verification process requires that it should be personally known, the allegations, or personally known and studied by the respective congressmen who signed it and if you noticed the congressmen who went there did not even know as to the subject matter of the discussion in the House caucus,” Torreon said.

Aside from Torreon and Delgra, other petitioners include Davao City Councilor Luna Maria Dominique Acosta, Bai Jundra Cassandra Dominique Advincula, Lord Byron Cristobal.

They prayed that the Supreme Court issued a TRO or writ of preliminary injunction directing the Senate to cease and desist from conducting impeachment proceedings.

They also asked the high court to declare the articles of impeachment null and void and permanently enjoin the Senate from proceeding with a supposedly invalid impeachment complaint.

Torreon argued that the ban against a second impeachment complaint within a period of year had already operated when the fourth complaint was entertained by the House.

“It is therefore for this Honorable Court to declare the impeachment complaint void ab initio for being constitutionally and procedurally defective and issue a writ of prohibition directing the Senate of the Philippines to refrain from conducting impeachment proceedings based on an invalid and jurisdictionally infirm impeachment complaint,” the petitioners said in the complaint.

Torreon said the impeachment of the Vice President was plain political persecution.

“Of course, you cannot describe it otherwise, this is part of the plan to eliminate her as the probable contender in the 2028 national elections, that’s my personal belief,” Torreon said.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero, named as respondents, have yet to comment on the planned petition.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives last week on charges of “violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes”.

Accusations spelled out in the 44-page document include an alleged plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a Marcos cousin.

Last week, the Vice President once again said comments taken from an expletive-filled speech where she claimed herself to be the subject of a plot had been taken out of context.

Sixteen votes in the 24-seat Senate are now needed to deliver a conviction that would bar Duterte from public office, including a presidential run she says she is “seriously considering”.

Escudero has said Duterte’s trial will probably not begin until after May’s mid-term elections — or finish before the next congress takes over in July.