Malacañang said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has not brought up the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and that the chief executive’s position that it is Congress which should call for a special session on the matter remains unchanged.
“I have run into the President on several occasions but he never talked about it [impeachment]. Whenever we ask him about it… or about calling for a special session, he tells us that his position remains the same,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Sunday.
“So, there is no change,” she noted in Filipino.
Castro has said it would be “awkward” for the President to “voluntarily” initiate the Vice President’s impeachment trial, since he has previously opposed the move.
“So, it is better for the Senate to request the President, considering that even the President made this pronouncement that if the Senate will ask him to call for a special session, he will do so,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
However, Castro said that lawmakers have not requested the President to call for a special congressional session to start the impeachment proceedings against Duterte.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has released the initial timetable for procedures related to the impeachment trial of Duterte, setting the tentative start of the trial on July 30.
Duterte, for her part, has filed a Supreme Court petition challenging the validity and constitutionality of the fourth impeachment complaint against her.
The Supreme Court has directed the Senate to answer the complaint before setting the date for oral arguments.