Sara Duterte impeachment trial begins as Senate prepares to convene court

National

“It proceeds,” Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said this, confirming that the Senate will sit as an impeachment court on May 18 to take up the case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Cayetano said the impeachment court will open at 3 p.m. or earlier if procedural issues on the rules and documents are resolved. He said the chamber intends to move forward without delay once formally convened.

The initial session will focus on issuing summons to the parties, a required step before the trial proper begins.

Cayetano explained that the constitutional directive to proceed “forthwith” still requires compliance with procedural steps, including allowing time for responses.

He added that once summons are issued, the process will proceed.

Cayetano also said he does not expect objections from the 13 newly aligned majority senators when the impeachment court is convened.

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted by the House on Tuesday evening and received by Senate Secretary Mark Mendoza after being delivered by House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil at around 7:20 p.m.

The turnover was secured by personnel from the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, supported by armed Philippine Marines, before House representatives completed the formal submission of the documents.

Vice President Duterte said she will defer to her legal team in handling her defense.

“We have a defense team, the impeachment defense team, who takes care of the issues and concerns regarding the impeachment. So, I leave it up to the lawyers to do their work,” Duterte said in an interview in The Hague, Netherlands.

Business and civic groups called on the Senate to act on its constitutional duty and ensure a fair and transparent trial once convened as an impeachment court. In a joint statement, organizations including the Management Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Justice Reform Initiative, Federation of Philippine Industries, and others urged the Senate to proceed without delay.

“We, the undersigned organizations, respectfully call on the Senate of the Philippines to fulfill its constitutional duty to convene as an Impeachment Court and conduct a fair, impartial and transparent trial based on the evidence and the law,” the groups said in a Philstar article.

They added that failure to proceed could weaken institutional credibility and investor confidence, stressing that adherence to constitutional processes is vital to governance and economic stability.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas also raised concerns over Senate leadership changes ahead of the trial, saying in a pastoral letter that recent developments suggest possible attempts to delay proceedings. He criticized what he described as politically driven maneuvers within the chamber.

A Senate leadership change took place on May 11, when Cayetano replaced Vicente Sotto III as Senate president, with several senators backing the transition.(MyTVCebu)