Sara's impeachment fate to be decided 20-25 days after defense rests
It will take almost a month from when the defense rests its case until the Senate impeachment court decides whether to convict Vice President Sara Duterte on alleged unexplained wealth and remove her from office, its spokesperson said Friday.
Duterte’s defense initially requested 30 trial days, but after the prosecution dropped three charges—leaving only Article 2—it was trimmed to 10, with the three already exhausted this week.
If a conviction is reached, impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Reginald Tongol said the tribunal will issue an execution order to relevant agencies, such as the Office of the President, to enforce Duterte’s immediate removal from office.
“In case the impeachable officer is found guilty, then she will not be able to run for public office anymore because there is a perpetual disqualification from impeachment,” he said in a radio interview.
“In case of acquittal, meaning there is no conviction, there is no need for the impeachment court to do anything,” he added.
A conviction will derail Duterte‘s presidential bid in the 2028 elections.
The two-thirds requirement for conviction is no longer calculated from the baseline of 24 Senate members, following rule amendments mandating that only those “legally and factually capable” of participating on the day of voting may cast a vote.
The number of senator-judges has fallen from 24 to 20 following the arrests of Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta on plunder charges.
Senator Bato dela Rosa remains in hiding amid an outstanding warrant from the International Criminal Court, while Senator Loren Legarda is still on medical leave abroad.
Duterte was twice impeached by the House of Representatives, accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, among others.
She has never attended a single trial, even though the ball is already in the defense’s court.
Although the trial was narrowed after the defense dropped 16 bank officials, including a BPI executive who would testify on Duterte’s alleged dollar accounts, Tongol said it is still “highly possible” the trial will slip to December, as Senate leaders previously projected.
Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero maintained that the court has no fixed timeline, though he remains hopeful the trial will wrap up by December, allowing the Senate to enter 2027 with renewed focus to address the country’s pressing challenges.
According to Tongol, the almost one-month suspensionaftere the defense rests is a necessary procedural requirement intended to give the rival parties, as well as the senator-judges, ample time to deliberate and review documentary evidence before the court finally hands down a decision.
“[It] will entail 10 days for the defense to submit [formal offer of documentary exhibits]. After that, the prosecution will be given a 10-day period to comment on that, and then, maybe 3 to 5 days for the court to make a decision,” he remarked.
The trial will be temporarily suspended from 16 to 18 November for the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits hosted by the Philippines in Pasay.
The defense plans to present eight to 10 more witnesses after the regional event.
Duterte is facing an impeachment trial on a total of charges, before it was reduced to one in late October—just before her defense presented counter-evidence disputing the allegations.
Dropped Articles 1, 3, and 4 center on the alleged misuse of confidential funds in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, “bribery” in the DepEd, and “grave threats” to the life of President Marcos Jr., respectively.
The lone charge, Article 2, accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth and undeclared assets in her SALNs, allegedly in violation of the Constitution.