Members of the Senate of the Philippines, led by Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 convene as an impeachment court to try the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. Joseph B. Vidal, OSP/Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit

MANILA — The House prosecution panel will discuss a possible bid for the recusal of some senators from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, a lawmaker said Friday.

“Hindi po natin maaaring i-disclose lahat ng aming gagawin. Pero ‘yan po ay pag-uusapan pagbalik namin or even bago mag-convene ang bagong Kongreso,” said impeachment prosecutor and Oriental Mindoro First District Rep. Arnan Panaligan.

“May mga remedy naman na maaaring gawin ang prosecution. Maaaring mag-file ng mga motion, lahat ‘yan, hindi lang yung motion to inhibit, even yung mga motion to subpoena yung mga records,” he said.

But Panaligan said that prosecutors could only make manifestations in open court.

“Hindi nga namin magawa ‘yan kasi nga hindi pa natuloy [ang trial proper]. Na-convene ang impeachment court noong nagkaroon ng oath-taking, pero walang trial, walang proceeding na nangyari. Kaya lahat talaga nakabitin,” he said.

Lawyer Christian Monsod, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, previously said senators who have prejudged the impeachment “ should no longer take part in the proceedings.” 

"Judges derive their legitimacy from their independence. The Senate is now functioning as a judicial body, but if some of them have already made up their minds, they should recuse themselves," he said last week.

But another House prosecutor rejected Tuesday a proposal for certain senators to inhibit in the impeachment trial. 

“Para sa akin, dapat hindi namin gawin ‘yun. Hindi dapat gawin ‘yun sa isang impeachment trial na ang mga senator judges ay pinapa-inhibit dahil ang isang impeachment ay isang political process. Hindi ito judicial process,” Rep. Lorenz Defensor, a member of the House prosecution team, said Tuesday. 

“Ang hinihingi lang natin ay maging patas sa pag-prisenta o pag-allow ng mga prosecution at defense team na ilatag ng husto,” he said in a DZMM interview.

Just hours after senators took their oaths as impeachment trial jurors on Tuesday, the Senate voted 18-5 to send the case against Duterte back to the House.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa initially introduced a motion to dismiss the impeachment case. He argued that earlier complaints filed against Duterte in the House, which did not make it past the committee level, had constituted multiple impeachment proceedings within a year, something banned under the constitution.

The motion was later amended in favor of sending the case back to the House, which certified on Wednesday it did not violate the constitution.

New House members who will take their seats on June 30 must comply with one more order from the Senate impeachment court: certify that they remain willing to prosecute the case.

“Talagang wala tayong magagawa ngayon kundi maghintay… I hate to admit it, pero talagang everything ay nakasalalay sa 20th Congress,” Panaligan said.

He said the House only wanted one thing from the Senate: “Simple lang, matuloy na at ma-hear ang kaso with fairness and impartiality.”

“Whether ma-convict or ma-acquit, kung yun ay para sa katarungan talaga, e yun sana ang mangyari,” he said.

The House impeached Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos.

A conviction, which requires the support of two-thirds of the Senate's 24 members, would mean her removal as vice president and a permanent ban from public office.

Duterte is widely expected to run for president in 2028 if she survives impeachment, a possibility with deep implications for the political futures of the senators tasked with deciding her fate.

On Monday, her defense team said in a statement they were "ready to confront the charges and expose the baselessness of the accusations against the Vice President."

Sara Duterte says lawyers preparing reply to Senate impeachment court summons

— With a report from Agence France-Presse