A hard look at a defining ruling

Prior to the Supreme Court’s July 25, 2025 decision on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, we had already heard talks that the highest court of the land would declare it null and void ab initio.

- Atty. Ian Vincent Manticajon

At first, such reports seemed unbelievable, especially considering that it was also leaked that the decision’s ponente would be Senior Associate Justice (SAJ) Marvic Leonen, a towering figure in progressive jurisprudence and legal thought.

And then the decision came as rumored: it declared the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional and void for being time-barred. More than 10 days have passed since it was promulgated and made public, yet I still haven’t written a single article in this column, nor have I posted any commentary on social media about it.

Much of that is because of the ponente himself. If it’s coming from SAJ Leonen, it’s best to study the decision first, let it ferment in my mind, and approach it with the intellectual patience and depth with which SAJ Leonen is known to treat his work.