SENATE President Francis Escudero yesterday said the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte may not take more than three months, and the verdict may be reached before Congress takes a Halloween break on October this year.
In a press conference in Sorsogon, Escudero said this will be the likely scenario if the actual impeachment trial will start after President Marcos Jr’s State-of-the-Nation Address, which is set on July 21.
He reiterated there are numerous processes the Senate will have to complete before actual trial starts. Even if Congress resumes regular sessions on June 2 to June 13, it will go on sine die adjournment from June 14 to July 27, he said.
The impeachment complaint, he also said, will be discussed by the Senate on June 2 because the law requires that any discussion on it should be done in an open session.
“House prosecutors will have to report out the Articles of Impeachment in the Senate plenary. Second, the Senate will have to approve the rules of impeachment. Third, the senators will take their oaths as impeachment judges in an open session. And all of that cannot be done while Congress is on recess,” Escudero said in Filipino.
After approving the rules of impeachment, the Senate will convene as an impeachment court, which will then authorize the Senate President to issue summons to the Vice President and the prosecution team, he said.
Escudero said the summons may be sent to Duterte on June 4, and it will be most likely received on June 6. He said Duterte will be given 10 days to answer the summons, or until June 16. The House prosecutors will be also be given 10 days to file their response to the Vice President.
“What will happen next is that the VP will file a rejoinder, and the prosecution will also do that. And then, both sides will submit an ad cautelam pleading. So, all of that will end around June 30 when the terms of the 12 senators have already expired,” he said.
He said the new set of 12 senators will take their oaths as impeachment judges a day after the 20th Congress officially starts on July 28.
“The 12 newly-elected senators will have to take their oaths and we can resume with the impeachment court on July 29 or possibly July 30 for the reception of evidence,” he added.
He asked the public for patience as he said the Senate just wants to follow the right process for the impeachment trial. He reiterated he does not want any party to question the legality of the impeachment court while the actual trial is ongoing as it would cause further delays.
He said that is the reason the pre-trial stage of the impeachment trial will be done before they start with the trial proper after the SONA.
“Because of that, I think the trial will not last longer than three months or two months. So by the time when we go on recess on October 2025, this will be finished as we have voted upon on the impeachment complaints),” he added.
‘SET THE STAGE’
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino should now “set the stage” of the impeachment trial after Escudero referred his letter to the Committee on Rules which is chaired by Tolentino.
Pimentel was referring to his letter asking Escudero to convene the Senate as an impeachment court even if Congress is on break.
“The Senate majority leader should now set the stage for the impeachment in keeping with the mandate with the mandate of the Constitution,” Pimentel said in a statement.
He said preparing the Senate as an impeachment court is the chamber’s “constitutional duty that must take precedence over our reelection bid.”
Pimentel’s term as senator will expire on June 30 after serving two consecutive terms and is running as congressman in Marikina City’s 1st district, while Tolentino is seeking reelection.
The other senators seeking reelection are Ronald dela Rosa, Christopher Go, Ramon Revilla, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, and Imee Marcos. The senators who will end their term on June 30 are Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, and Cynthia Villar.
“Preparatory work for the impeachment can proceed immediately as these actions are separate and distinct from the legislative functions of Congress … The Senate’s Committee on Rules must forthwith, immediately, right away, and without delay review the impeachment guidelines,” he said, adding that the committee can either reaffirm the existing rules in their entirety or propose targeted amendments that better align with the constitutional intent.
Pimentel, in an interview Monday, said the Senate can convene as an impeachment court and start with the pre-trial matters saying “we should not be bound by the so-called Senate legislative calendar and we can declare that we are now convening as an impeachment court.”
SC PETITION
The Supreme Court directed the House of Representatives and the Senate to comment on the petition filed by Duterte seeking the nullification of the fourth impeachment complaint filed against her.
In an en banc session, the magistrates GAVE House Secretary General Reginald Velasco and the Senate “to comment on the petition” within a non-extendible period of 10 days upon receipt of the notice.
Duterte, in the petition, said the complaint “violated Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution which states that no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”
SPECIAL SESSION
Malacañang said the Senate has not sent a request for President Marcos Jr to call a special session to conduct the impeachment trial, since the complaint was sent by the House to the Senate on February 5.
Communications Undersecretary Clarissa Castro said without the request, “it would be an awkward position on the part of the President to voluntarily call for a special session considering that there is this ongoing intrigue that the President is behind the impeachment proceedings.”
“So, it is better for the Senate to request the President considering that even the President made this pronouncement that if the Senate will ask him to call for a special session, he will do so,” she added.
San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, a House prosecutor in the impeachment, said the Senate does not need a special session to convene as an impeachment court to begin hearing the articles of impeachment.
“As to that, we don’t need a special session because the Constitution is clear that trial shall forthwith proceed. For us, the Senate is already the impeachment court even if it is on recess,” Zamora said.
Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider), another member of the prosecution team, said the responsibility of convening as an impeachment court “lies solely with the Senate, in accordance with the Constitution.” – With Wendel Vigilia and Jocelyn Montemayor
