A social media post claiming that the Supreme Court has dismissed the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte has gone viral. This is false and fabricated.
On Sept. 28, a viral post on Facebook carried the text:
“Breaking news ❗
IMPEACHMENT case ni VP SARA , Binasura ng SUPREME COURT.
Kita kits sa 2028💪💚
(Breaking news ❗
VP SARA’s IMPEACHMENT case was dismissed by the SUPREME COURT.
See you in 2028 💪💚)”
The claim is entirely false. The Senate has been conducting the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte since July 6 and has already conducted 31 session days as of Sept. 29.
No such dismissal could be found on the official announcements or notices from the Supreme Court, nor from the official transcripts and daily records of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.
While the Supreme Court has previously heard separate petitions challenging the rules of procedure or the filing of impeachment trials, it did not cancel or dismiss the impeachment case, which remains under the jurisdiction of the Senate.
The post was published on Sept. 28, coinciding with the trial proceedings while awaiting the Supreme Court ruling on a pending petition challenging the legality of the June 3 Senate session, which resulted in changes in the Senate leadership and amendments to the impeachment rules. The SC dismissed the petition on Oct. 1.
The publisher, Oskarkilo Vlog, is a political blogger account (created October 24, 2010). The post so far has garnered 109,400 likes; 9,800 comments; and 4,600 shares.
Editor’s Note: This fact check was produced with the help of a communication research student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines as part of their internship at VERA Files.
