Ridon tells impeachment TRO petitioners: Have pity on the trees

MANILA, Philippines — Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Tuesday criticized Vice President Sara Duterte’s allies for repeatedly asking the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the impeachment proceedings, quipping that they should at least spare the trees cut down to produce the paper used for their petitions.

In a press briefing on the sidelines of the impeachment trial at the Senate, Ridon and other ranking House of Representatives lawmakers were asked about the 16-page Very Urgent Manifestation with Motion filed by Israelito Torreon and other lawyers supportive of Duterte.

The petition seeks a temporary restraining order on the impeachment while they question the authority of Senator-judge Francis Escudero to preside over the impeachment proceedings.

“You know, several petitions have been filed already, that’s the latest in a string of motions.  Don’t they have any mercy for trees, they are wasting paper.  Because the truth is, the stage is no longer at the Supreme Court’s level, it is already at the Senate,” Ridon said in Filipino.

“And the truth is that the absurdity of their position, that in each and every time, the defense has to explain that they have pending proceedings in the Supreme Court questioning all of these, is already funny.  That’s why while they are free to do it, we will proceed with the impeachment trial until the very end,” he added.

READ: Group asks SC to void Escudero’s authority to preside over trial

Prosecution spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that he believes the intention of the petitioners is to delay the proceedings.  However, Adiong said they are confident that it would not happen because the senator-judges are aware of their duty under the 1987 Constitution.

“Those groups are associated with the respondent.  It’s very obvious that all of these efforts are geared to delay.  And unfortunately the Constitution frustrated their efforts because it (trial) has already started.  And up to now they have not lost hope that they can continue to delay the process,” he said partly in Filipino.

“But I’m sorry, the Constitution is followed and our senator-judges know their duty, and the proceedings will continue that’s why we said that this is already a victory for us, because the impeachment trial has already started despite the efforts of some of those who want to delay this or to stop this,” he added.

According to Torreon and the other lawyers who filed the petition, the amendment made to the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials — that the presiding officer can be elected — cannot be enforced because the June 3 session’s legality is still being challenged as there were supposedly only 12 members present for a quorum.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has maintained that the proceedings are legitimate because only 22 senators were within the reach of the Senate during that time, as Senator Ronald dela Rosa evaded public eye while Senator Jinggoy Estrada was detained over plunder charges.

According to the petition, only the Senate President can preside over impeachment trials, with the exception of when the president is on trial, which shall be presided over by the chief justice.

This is not the first time that Torreon and other lawyers went to SC in a bid to stop the impeachment.  After Duterte was first impeached last February 5, 2025, the Articles of Impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate in accordance with constitutional provisions mandating that a trial must begin promptly if at least one-third of all House members endorse the complaint.

READ: Impeachment court summons Sara Duterte to first day of her trial

Trial, however, did not start immediately, as the articles of impeachment were not brought to the Senate plenary before session adjourned for the election season break.  The Senate also remanded the articles to the House for alleged constitutional infirmities.

The Senate — then under Escudero — was referring also to two petitions seeking to halt the impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed before the Supreme Court.

One of the petitions came from a group of Mindanao-based lawyers including Torreon who argued that the House failed to observe constitutional rules requiring it to act on filed impeachment complaints within 10 session days.

Then in March 2026, while the House committee on justice tackled the second set of impeachment complaints, Torreon and other lawyers backing the Vice President filed a petition before SC questioning the alleged unconstitutional acts done by the panel. /jpv

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