Duterte impeachment trial now in motion

The impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte is now officially in motion after Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero took his oath as presiding officer on Monday.

Escudero’s oath-taking followed the referral of the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, four months after it was submitted by their counterparts at the House of Representatives.

No members of the Senate, including known Duterte allies, opposed the referral of the document, which was treated like an ordinary proposed bill or resolution.

Senator Joel Villanueva, however, clarified that the oath-taking of Escudero does not mean that the chamber was automatically convened as an impeachment court.

Other senators are set to take their respective oaths as senator judges on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The chamber would finally convene as an impeachment court on Wednesday, which is also the last session day of the 19th Congress.

Prior to this, senators discussed for hours the way forward on Duterte's impeachment case after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III formally made the motion to finally convene the Senate as an impeachment court, ahead of the 11 June presentation of the Articles of Impeachment.

In his motion, Pimentel also moved to suspend the legislative calendar to allow Escudero to take his oath as the presiding officer of the impeachment court and for the administration of the prescribed oath to all members of the Senate as judges.

To recall, Escudero had moved the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment to 11 June, which was initially scheduled for 2 June to "give way" for the passage of priority measures of the Marcos administration.

The presentation of the Articles of Impeachment marks the beginning of the impeachment proceedings in the Senate, which would then constitute itself as an impeachment court.

He also moved that the impeachment court call the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte and come up with a calendar for the trial.

“That tomorrow, June 10, 2025 at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the Impeachment Court will call the impeachment case for the presentation and reading of the Articles of Impeachment by the panel of prosecutors of the House of Representatives,” he said.

“That thereafter, the writ of summons be issued to the impeached officer,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros seconded the motion, stressing that the chamber must proceed “forthwith with no further delay” in convening the impeachment court.

“Hindi po mahirap intindihin ang utos, sa sinumang tapat ang intensyong sundin ito. Ang paglilitis ay dapat agarang simulan, nang walang pag-iwas o iba pang pagpapaliban,” Hontiveros said.

“In fact, Retired Justice Adolfo Azcuna, who wrote the procedural section that included the word ‘forthwith’ said that it meant and I quote, ‘immediately and without unreasonable delay, or in the national language official version, agad agad,’” she added.

Senator Joel Villanueva, for his part, took the floor to question the minority bloc’s motion to convene the chamber as an impeachment court.

Citing Senate Rules on Impeachment, Villanueva said notices must be issued to both the House prosecution team and Duterte’s camp.

As of press time, senators are still discussing how to proceed with the motion, as questions on whether the impeachment case must be referred to the Committee on Rules first have yet to be answered.

Resolution

In a related development, Senator Robin Padilla filed a resolution seeking to dismiss the impeachment case against Duterte.

In Senate Resolution 1371, Padilla noted the 19th Congress will adjourn sine die on Friday, 13 June, and with this, "all pending matters and proceedings shall terminate upon the expiration of one (1) Congress."

"The Articles of Impeachment against Vice-President Sara Zimmerman Duterte is one such pending matter, and the consideration thereof is one such pending proceeding," he said.

"From all the foregoing, 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 added.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on 5 February, with 215 lawmakers, more than two-thirds of its members, voting in favor.

If convicted by the Senate, Duterte would be removed from office and barred from holding any future public position.

For Duterte to be convicted, the Senate, which will act as the impeachment court, must secure two-thirds of the votes, or at least 16 out of the 24 members.