Supreme Court Has Not Dismissed Sara Duterte Impeachment Case, Contrary to Claims

In a sharp twist to the ongoing political drama in the Philippines, false claims have begun circulating that the Supreme Court dismissed impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, highlighting the spread of misinformation amid high-stakes political proceedings.

A YouTube video posted on April 22, 2026, by the channel “PINAS NEWS INSIDER” falsely claimed that the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) and dismissed the impeachment case against Duterte. The video, which has garnered over 56,820 views and thousands of interactions, featured a misleading thumbnail stating: “Tinapos lahat ang kongreso! TRO ipinag-utos na. Case dismissed na! Impeachment ni VP Sara binasura sa Korte” (The entire Congress is finished! A temporary restraining order has been issued. The case has been dismissed! Vice President Sara’s impeachment has been thrown out by the Court).

Fact-checkers have confirmed no such ruling exists. The Supreme Court has not issued any order dismissing the impeachment proceedings, nor does it have the constitutional authority to intervene at this stage of the process. Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, impeachment is an exclusive power of Congress, with the House of Representatives initiating proceedings and the Senate serving as the impeachment court.

The Supreme Court’s role in impeachment matters is strictly limited to reviewing cases involving grave abuse of discretion, such as violations of the constitutional one-year bar rule on refiling impeachment complaints. There is no record of any ruling, order, or action from the Court relating to the dismissal of Duterte’s impeachment case.

The misinformation emerged on the same day as the third House committee on justice hearing, where lawmakers examined serious allegations against the Vice President. During this session, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) presented evidence of approximately P6.77 billion in bank transactions involving Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio, between 2006 and 2025. These figures stand in stark contrast to what Duterte reported in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

The AMLC further detailed 630 covered transaction reports and 33 suspicious transaction reports, including P230.87 million in transactions from 2019 to 2024—a period during which Duterte declared no cash holdings in her SALNs. Her official declared net worth peaked at P88 million in 2024, raising questions about the discrepancy between her declared assets and the extensive banking transactions uncovered.

Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV also testified at the hearing, alleging that the Vice President and her family members received approximately P181.6 million in payments from alleged drug lord Samuel “Sammy” Uy between 2011 and 2013. Trillanes maintained that these allegations, if proven true, could constitute impeachable offenses including betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

The spread of this misinformation appears designed to create confusion about the impeachment proceedings at a critical juncture. Many commenters on the YouTube video expressed relief and support for Duterte, believing the false claim that the Supreme Court had intervened to stop the impeachment process.

This incident underscores the challenge of combating political misinformation in the Philippines, where YouTube channels with large subscriber bases can rapidly spread unverified claims. “PINAS NEWS INSIDER,” the channel responsible for the false claim, has 1.2 million subscribers, giving it significant reach for disseminating misleading political content.

As the actual impeachment proceedings continue in the House committee on justice, the public is encouraged to seek information from official government sources and credible news organizations rather than relying on unverified social media content, particularly when it comes to constitutional matters of significant national importance.