Luistro: SC’s ‘forthwith’ ruling considers Senate conditions

With the recent impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte from the House of Representatives and recent leadership change in the Senate, a lawmaker stated that it is still expected that the upper house of Congress will convene as an impeachment court immediately based on the Constitution.

Under law, the Senate, upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment, is tasked with acting on the documents ‘forthwith’ to conduct a trial on any public official that was tagged as the respondent of the case.

The term ‘forthwith’ stirred controversy during the impeachment of Duterte in 2025 as a petition was filed against the Senate as it did not, at the time, assemble as a court and instead returned the impeachment articles due to a supposed insufficiency of evidence.

In a Supreme Court ruling last 29 April, it was ruled that the word meant “within a reasonable time” and would be dependent on the circumstances surrounding the case itself.

For Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, the high court’s definition of the term was merely meant to consider any and all conditions of the Senate.

“My understanding about that decision of the Supreme Court, they are just recognizing the exclusive prerogative of the Senate as to how they are going to apply the word forthwith, depending on the circumstances surrounding the Senate,” the solon said during an interview on ANC this Tuesday.

Luistro’s remarks referenced the sudden leadership change that took place on Monday while the voting on the impeachment of the Vice President was unfolding.

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto was ousted from his post as Senate President in a vote of 13-9-2 in favor of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano in a move that many regarded as a means to potentially block the conviction of Duterte.

And as if the coup was not in itself surprising enough, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who had been absent from Senate sessions since 11 November 2025, was present after a blitz past National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) authorities and was among the senators in favor of the leadership change.

Despite the developments, Luistro said that she was still going to give the Senators the “benefit of the doubt,” particularly with Cayetano’s assurance that the impeachment process was still set to push through.

“Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, after all this is not purely political, this is Constitutional as well, this is legal. The survey is actually very much in favor of pushing for the trial so I hope they will be very conscious about that, most especially the Constitutional mandate,” she said.

The solon further admitted that it was possible that what had happened during the previous impeachment could repeat itself, however, she noted that she hopes that the Senators would consider the sentiment of the public who are seeking for answers to the allegations.

On the topic of a potential move to dismiss the complaints, Luistro asserted that the rules of the Senate on impeachment does not indicate for such an action to be made, instead only allowing for either a ruling of conviction or an acquittal to be handed down.

In her message to senators, she said, “Let us respond to our Constitutional mandate, the same way that the House of Representatives did. This is not a matter of choice, this is a matter of duty.”

Prosecution Panel

Asked on who she preferred to be members of the prosecution panel that will participate in the trial, Luistro mentioned the same names that she had floated during previous interviews on the matter.

Her list comprised of the following lawmakers:

Manila 6th District Rep. Joel Chua

San Juan Rep. Ysabel Zamora

Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Keith Flores

1-Rider Partylist Rep. Rodge Gutierrez

Cagayan de Oro 1st District Rep. Lordan Suan

Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima

Akbayan Partylist Rep. Chel Diokno

Iloilo Third District Rep. Lorenz Defensor

This Tuesday, the House of Representatives is expected to announce the aforementioned prosecution panel and discuss the transmittal of the physical copy of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate during the plenary session.