‘𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹’—𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗱. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲—𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁 👀

A Quezon City court just shut down Manases “Mans” Carpio’s attempt to block the House from getting the Duterte-Carpio income tax records tied to the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte. The RTC basically drew a hard line: this fight runs straight into Congress’ impeachment lane, and the court won’t step in in a way that undercuts that constitutional power.

In its May 6 ruling, QC RTC Branch 81 said Carpio’s case was aimed at officials acting in their official roles inside the House justice committee—meaning the issue touches a coequal branch of government. The court added that if judicial review is being sought over a constitutional organ like that committee, the proper forum is the Supreme Court, not a trial court.

Bottom line: the RTC leaned on the Constitution’s wording that the House has the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, and said a writ like prohibition can’t be used to freeze a body that’s exercising its legal mandate. In the court’s view, issuing subpoenas for the ITRs was part of the committee’s inherent powers in the impeachment process.

The ruling also took a swipe at the kind of “evidence” brought into the petition—flagging that YouTube links and news reports aren’t the kind of materials courts automatically treat as established fact. While the legal tug-of-war continues, the political clock is still ticking: the articles of impeachment are lined up for a House plenary vote on May 11, and one lawmaker claimed enough members have already signaled support to clear the threshold to send the case to the Senate.

Image from Senate PH FB