The Senate allowing the House prosecution to order Vice President Sara Duterte to answer the allegations against her under the articles of impeachment even before the start of her trial will expedite the proceedings scheduled for late July.

House prosecutor Lorenz Defensor explained in an interview on Wednesday that if the Senate, which will sit as the trial court, approves their motion to issue summons to Duterte, it would allow both the prosecution and the defense to complete their pleadings before the trial formally begins.

"We want to speed up the process of the pleadings so that when the Senate is complete, then we will all be ready for trial with all the pleadings dispensed with," Defensor said partly in Filipino.

"We can finish with that right now without the senators sitting or trial being conducted. We can finish the pleading and start in June," he added.

Congress is currently on a four-month break for the election campaign season and will only resume session on 2 June.

Based on the Senate's timetable, the issuance of summons is scheduled for 4 June and the reception of pleadings is from 14 to 24 of the same month.

Defensor argued that as long as Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who will sit as the presiding judge, recognizes the rules under Resolution 39 as valid, then the Senate can issue a summons against Duterte so that she could answer the impeachment complaint.

Rule VII of the said resolution, adopting the rules of procedure on impeachment trials, stipulates that a "writ of summons shall be issued to the person impeached to file his/her answer to said articles of impeachment within a non-extendible period of ten days from receipt."

The prosecutors then have a non-extendible period of five days to file their reply.

"Even the Senate rules acknowledge that the trial shall proceed. And under Rule 7 of the Senate Rules on Impeachment, they must immediately issue summons," he maintained.

"We can study the case [now] so that by June [...] we can proceed with the trial, mark our evidence," Defensor stressed.

However, Escudero called the House prosecutors' move "illegal," asserting that summons can only be issued once Congress is in session and the Senate impeachment court has already convened.

Escudero has repeatedly maintained that holding a trial during the congressional break "legally cannot be done" since the articles of impeachment — serving as the basis for the impeachment court to be convened — were not referred to the plenary before Congress adjourned on 5 February.

He also insisted that they will not start with the impeachment trial unless the 20th Congress takes over on 28 July or after 12 new senators are sworn in. The trial will subsequently start on 30 June.

But for Defensor, the Senate must abide by the Constitution to forthwith proceed with the trial, especially since the issue involves a national interest of "utmost national significance."

"The sooner that the Vice President faces this trial whether she will be convicted or acquitted, we can dispense with this and have national closure with respect to this impeachment case," he averred.

The House outlined seven impeachable offenses against Duterte, including betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

A total of 215 lawmakers signed the articles of impeachment against her.

The Senate will need a two-thirds vote or at least 16 of the 24 sitting senators to convict Duterte. If convicted, she will be permanently disqualified from holding any public office, including her alleged ambition to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the 2028 elections.