Senate Minority moves to convene Sara impeachment court

The Senate minority bloc is set to file a motion today to formally convene the chamber as an impeachment court in the case against Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros announced Monday.

“Fellow citizens, we will not allow the Senate to be the first to violate the Constitution. That is why this afternoon, during the plenary session, we in the Senate minority will take action to begin fulfilling our constitutional duty,” Hontiveros told reporters at a press conference.

“We in the Senate minority will formally move to commence the opening rites of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte,” she added.

According to Hontiveros, the two-member minority bloc — led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III — will also push to allow Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero to take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court and administer the required oath to all senators as judges of the impeachment court.

“We will also move for the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and for the Articles of Impeachment — received from the House of Representatives back in February — to be formally presented to the body,” she said.

“We are not yet at the trial proper. These are merely the opening rites — oaths and formalities. It won’t even take an hour,” she added in Filipino.

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.