The Senate on Sunday reminded Vice President Sara Duterte that she only has until Monday, 1 June, to file an answer to the allegations laid out by the House of Representatives under the articles of impeachment.

The ultimatum follows the end of the 10-day period provided by the Senate impeachment court to Duterte and her defense team to counter the charges filed by the House, including, among others, graft and corruption. The VP or her counsel can file their written defense personally or via email until 7 p.m.

Failure to file pleadings will force the Senate impeachment court to proceed with the trial. Tight security is expected to be in place within the Senate premises in preparation for the VP’s possible arrival. Subsequently, the prosecution team is directed to file its reply within five days. 

The trial proper is expected to kick off on 6 July, with the schedule tentatively set to run three times a week. 

Duterte made history as the first senior official ever to be impeached twice on charges of plundering public coffers and plotting to kill ally-turned-foe, President Marcos Jr., among others.

The House, dominated by Marcos’ allies, overwhelmingly impeached the VP on 11 May in a 257-25 vote. However, the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will ultimately determine whether she will be acquitted of the charges or will be convicted, which could derail her presidential bid in the 2028 polls. 

The Senate would need 16 votes or two-thirds of its members to convict Duterte. A conviction by the Senate impeachment court carries mandatory sanctions of removal from office and permanent disqualification from holding one.

However, given the current composition of the chamber, with her allies comprising the majority bloc, the speculation is that she will likely be exonerated.

The VP is facing allegations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. She was first impeached on 5 February last year. However, the Supreme Court unanimously struck it down on a technicality before the Senate could hold a trial proper. 

The charges are primarily related to the alleged misuse of over P600 million in confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and a plot to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez killed.

The secret funds were allocated to her office (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P112.5 million), which she headed for two years from June 2022 to June 2024. 

Yet despite these grave allegations, the VP consistently leads early presidential preference polls for 2028, though often running neck-to-neck with popular political figures like former vice president, now Naga Mayor Leni Robredo, and Senator Raffy Tulfo. 

Duterte and her defense were no-shows in every hearing in the House, although they vehemently dismissed the allegations of wrongdoing as a fishing expedition and politically motivated aimed at derailing her plans to succeed Marcos. 

Amending rules not linked to impeachment

The Senate majority last week attempted unsuccessfully to amend the rules allowing senators to join sessions and vote remotely after the minority staged a walkout in protest. 

Minority lawmakers, who were accused of being “openly aligned with the administration”, suspected that the move was a veiled effort to allow senators from the majority—who are facing arrest and detention threats—to partake in the impeachment trial of the VP. 

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon had similar suspicions, saying the ulterior motive behind the majority’s effort to rush amending rules was to outnumber the minority in crucial voting, such as to subpoena the VP’s bank records.

However, Senate President Alan Cayetano strongly disputed the allegations, saying the chamber’s rules are entirely different from those of the impeachment court. 

Cayetano argued that the rules of the Senate impeachment court had already been adopted as early as 18 May, when the chamber formally convened as a court. 

Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos, a staunch Duterte ally, has repeatedly suggested that chances are slim that the VP will be convicted by the Senate impeachment court. This allegedly prompted senators in the minority to aggressively stage a counter-coup to reclaim the leadership to push the supposed unholy alliance with the House to amend the Charter.

The alleged motive: scrap the 1018 elections to effectively derail VP Duterte’s presidential ambition.