Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday officially set the convening of the Senate as an impeachment court for May 18 at 3 p.m. or “at the possible soonest time” following his formal receipt of articles against Vice President Sara Duterte.
He said the Senate majority has decided to adopt the chamber’s existing impeachment rules without amendments to ensure the trial moves forward immediately and avoids the delays required for new publications.
Once the senators take their oaths as judges on Monday, the court will issue summons to the Vice President, with the trial proper tentatively expected to begin as early as June.
“There will be a motion to convene. I will take my oath first as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, followed by the 23 senators. After that, our job is to issue the summons. Once the response is filed, the process will proceed, and I will brief you more about that process later,” he explained.
The prosecution team from the House of Representatives, meanwhile, has the option to attend Monday’s proceedings but is not strictly required for the formal reading of the articles.
Cayetano noted that the chamber will likely shift to a rigorous Monday-to-Thursday schedule to balance the impeachment trial with urgent legislative work and economic crises.
“I will act in accordance with the rules. There always has to be legal grounds, and I will decide based on truth and evidence,” he said.
