MANILA - Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte has formally asked the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the complaint filed against her, citing a constitutional violation.

In a response filed ad cautelam (with caution) on Monday, Duterte argued that the complaint breached the one-year bar rule under Section 3(5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, which limits the filing of impeachment complaints against the same official to once per year.

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"Vice-President Sara Z. Duterte, by counsel, without waiving any jurisdictional and/or other objections she has to this case and the Fourth Impeachment Complaint, respectfully states: the fourth impeachment complaint must be dismissed because it is void ab initio for violating the One-Year Bar Rule under Section 3 (5) Article XI of the 1987 Constitution," her legal filing stated.

The House of Representatives also received a copy of Duterte's response, in which she denied the allegations and noted that the Senate's earlier decision to remand the case to the House removed any obligation on her part to respond to the accusations.

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House prosecutors now have five days to submit their reply.

Duterte, currently in Australia meeting with Filipino supporters, was impeached by the House in early February on charges including graft, corruption, and an alleged assassination plot against her ally-turned-foe, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos.

A conviction in the Senate would result in her removal from office and permanent disqualification from holding public office.