To convene as impeachment court June 11; Escudero takes oath as presiding judge

Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath as presiding judge of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court Monday evening, marking the start of the proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senators also voted unanimously to refer the verified impeachment complaint against Duterte to the Senate committee on rules.

Session were suspended twice yesterday before the two motions of Senator Joel Villanueva was adopted, and amid the start of a three-day protest rally outside the Senate and the filing of a resolution seeking to terminate the trial before it has even started.

A third motion was made for the other senators to take their oath as senator-judges at 4 p.m. today (Tuesday).

The Senate as an impeachment court will convene on Wednesday.

Villanueva’s motions followed that of Senate Minority Floor Leader Senator Aquilino Pimentel III who moved for the Upper Chamber to immediately convene as an impeachment court.

“The root cause of this is the apprehension of our people based on recent pronouncements and developments that there will be no impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte,” Pimentel said before Villanueva’s motions were adopted.

Pimentel said the language of the 1987 Constitution was unequivocal, citing Article XI, Section 3(4) which states that once the House transmits the articles of impeachment with a vote of one-third of its members, “trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”

“The word ‘forthwith’ means without delay – agad-agad (immediately). There is no ‘if,’ no ‘unless,’ and no ‘when convenient,'” he added.

In a parallel manifestation, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros seconded Pimentel’s motion.

“The Constitution is clear. The trial must begin immediately. Walang pag-iimbot. Agad-agad (Without self-interest. Immediately),” she said, adding that “anyone who objects to commencing the trial is objecting to the Constitution itself.”

“I am here before you to also appeal to the deeper purpose of the law. And the spirit of the impeachment power is unmistakable: it is accountability. It is to ensure that no public officer, however powerful, is above the Constitution…This process must not be rendered impotent through procedural subterfuge.”

The impeachment complaint accuses the Vice President of grave offenses, including betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, conspiracy to commit murder, misuse of confidential funds, and unexplained wealth.

Pimentel said the Senate had already lost four months without a valid justification since the impeachment complaint was transmitted by the House on February 5.

“We had a choice every step of the way —and our choice was to delay,” Pimentel said.

“Trial is the most fair course of action. Let the evidence be heard. Let the Vice President defend herself. That is what the Constitution demands,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Escudero said the Senate will fulfill its constitutional obligations on the impeachment proceedings based on law and due process, not public or political pressure.

“They want us to rush our constitutional duty. We will fulfill it, but not at the exact time they demand just because they are in a hurry. No one said we would not carry it out, but as I’ve stated, this is a process that must be followed, not on their timeline, and not at their chosen moment,” he said.

“If we followed their wishes, it could give the accused, Vice President Sara, additional legal grounds to elevate the matter to the Supreme Court, creating yet another national issue. It’s not about whether she would benefit or not, but because it could trigger a constitutional crisis where the Court might be forced to stop the Senate from continuing its work,” Escudero added.

Senator Robinhood Padilla, a known Duterte ally, yesterday filed a resolution seeking to declare the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President as terminated.

“It is indubitably clear that the matter of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice-President Sara Zimmerman Duterte and its consideration by the present Senate cannot be fully accomplished by the expiration of the Nineteenth Congress on 30 June 2025, thereby resulting in its termination,” he said in Senate Resolution No. 1371.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino also voiced strong opposition to carrying over the proceedings into the 20th Congress.

However, he proposed that the 19th Congress can complete the trial in just 19 days, beginning with the impeachment court session on June 11.

Tolentino said by June 23, trial briefs would be submitted in the morning, followed by opening statements in the afternoon. The prosecution would present its evidence from June 24 to 25.

The defense would then present its case from June 25 to 26. Rebuttals are scheduled for June 27. Oral arguments would take place on June 28. A closed-door caucus among senators is set for June 29. Based on Tolentino’s proposed timeline, judgment could be rendered on June 30.

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Escudero takes oath as impeachment court presiding officer.”