MANILA — Most of the senators in the coming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte in the 20th Congress will be sitting as judges for the first time.

If and when the Duterte impeachment trial happens, Sen. Loren Legarda and Senator-Elect Vicente Sotto III will have had the most experience, having been part of the impeachment trials of President Joseph Estrada in 2000 and Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.

"Preparing for the impeachment is more than just wearing our gowns, right? Well reading, reading the rules of this and the past impeachments and getting ourselves emotionally ready as well," Legarda told an ambush interview on Tuesday.

"I am prepared because I am a veteran of two other impeachments. I don't know about the others," Sotto told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay on Wednesday.

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Senate President Francis Escudero, Senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Jinggoy Estrada and Lito Lapid, and Senators-Elect Francis Pangilinan and Panfilo Lacson were judges in the Corona trial.

For the rest of the members of the Senate in the 20th Congress, it would be their first trial.

Of the senators, only five are lawyers by training: Escudero, the Cayetanos, Pangilinan, and Senator-Elect Rodante Marcoleta.

Sen. Joel Villanueva will be judging an impeachment trial for the first time and he has already fitted his robe.

"Mixed emotions but definitely more of so much responsibility... Great, great responsibility," he said of the experience of trying the robe on.

Villanueva said he has been consulting with experts ahead of the trial but also acknowledged an impeachment court is a unique one.

"A sui generis, exactly, has a life of its own," he added.

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL AN 'UNFINISHED BUSINESS'

On June 2, the Senate of the 19th Congress will convene for two weeks before adjourning sine die ahead of its expiration on June 30. 

While the last few days before an adjournment is usually left for unfinished business,  this year's list has a controversial entry — the articles of impeachment.

Members of the House  are expected to officially read into the Senate's records the charges against Duterte.

This will trigger the convening of the impeachment court the next morning.

The senators of the 19th Congress are to be sworn in as judges and the court will issue a writ of summons for Duterte.

The days after this till mid-July will be devoted to the submissions of documents and evidence.

On July 29, a day after the 20th Congress opens, the newly elected senators will also be sworn in as impeachment judges, paving the way for the trial proper  — the actual hearings for the presentation of evidence and arguments from both sides — to begin on July 30.

This early, Sotto has already pointed to a clash of the Senate's own rules and its specific rules for impeachment.

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He said that, under the Senate rules, business left unfinished at the adjournment of a Congress "dies" and is terminated.

Sotto said the question lies in whether the impeachment trial can carry over to the 20th Congress since the Rules of Impeachment say the trial must continue "until final judgment shall be rendered, and so much longer as may, in its judgment, be necessary."

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He added the Supreme Court in Balag v. Senate — on detention for contempt in a legislative inquiry — "says na pag natapos ang term, pag nag-adjourn sine die, tapos lahat (everything ends when the term of office ends and Congress adjourns sine die)."

SENATE MUST DECIDE

Sotto said it would be best for the senators themselves to decide in the matter.

"It should never be the Senate president alone who decides. That should never be done. So, the members of the Senate in the 20th Congress must stand up and discuss this," he said.

He said another issue that may come up is the House majority's endorsement of the fourth complaint against Duterte, which was filed weeks after the first one.

Sotto acknowledged that the Supreme Court might step in on questions surrounding the impeachment, but added the Senate might decide to settle the issue by itself.

Escudero previously said something along the same lines.

"Ultimately, it will be the Supreme Court's decision. But the Senate can decide on it one way or the other. Yes. Both as a Senate and as an impeachment court," Escudero said last May 15.

Both Sotto and Escudero said the Senate, as an impeachment court, might decide to ignore the Supreme Court. 

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Villanueva believes some issues may have to be left to the High Court.

"But at the same time, ako personally, as I look at both arguments, at the end of the day, it's really the rules of the Senate," Villanueva, a former chair of the rules committee, said.

Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III for his part believes that the impeachment can cross over since.

"Just like a court, the workload or docket of the Senate as the impeachment court will not and should not be affected by a change in membership," he said.

RECONCILIATION?

Sotto said the impeachment trial falling through could pave the way for the political reconciliation that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called for.

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Sotto believes that the reconciliation between the Marcoses and the Dutertes can begin at the Senate.

"Pwede. Pwede. We can start with it in the Senate," he said.

Sotto says developments at the Senate are expected to have a ripple effect in Philippine politics, which could mean a broader reconciliation after the breakup of the UniTeam, the coalition of political parties and dynasties for the 2022 elections.

SOTTO: IMPEACHMENT CAN BE A 2028 ELECTIONS ISSUE

Sotto conceded impeachment is a political exercise, with ties affecting newly elected members and those whose terms will end in 2028.

"Ang bantayan mo, yung mga re-electionist, sila ang mag-iisip mabuti kung paano gagawin. In 2028, re-election na sila. So, titignan nilang mabuti bago sila mag-decision kung papaano ang gagawin nila," he said.

(The re-electionists are the ones to watch. They will have to think well about what to do. They will be seeking reelection in 2028, so they will need to think their decisions over)

Of the 20th Congress senators, eight are eligible for reelection: 

• • Francis Escudero
• • Robin Padilla
• • Loren Legarda
• • Raffy Tulfo
• • Mark Villar
• • Alan Peter Cayetano
• • JV Ejercito
• • Jinggoy Estrada
• Another four will be ending their second six-year term:
• • Joel Villanueva
• • Miguel Zubiri
• • Risa Hontiveros
• • Win Gatchalian 
• They may, however, run for other positions.