Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference with the media at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on February 7, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference with the media at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on February 7, 2025. Duterte addressed the impeachment case filed against her by Congress, and also assured the public that her office would cooperate with the legal process while continuing to prioritize government programs and services. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

20250207-sara duterte-impeachment-presscon

RG Cruz

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174945881246520250207-vp-duterte-presscon-impeachment-MT-19.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte holds a press conference with the media at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on February 7, 2025. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — The Senate minority failed to trigger the commencement of the trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday after a majority of senators rejected the move.</p><p>Sens. Aquilino &quot;Koko&quot; Pimentel and Risa Hontiveros <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/9/hontiveros-to-formally-request-the-opening-of-sara-duterte-trial-1205">formally made the motion to commence the opening rites of Duterte&#x27;s trial in the Senate plenary</a>, saying that the supposed proceedings had been delayed for months. </p><p>They cited the 1987 Constitution that mandates the Senate to &quot;proceed forthwith&quot; with the trial of an impeached official.</p><p>Following a break, Senator Joel Villanueva made two motions: one referring the articles of impeachment against Vice President Duterte to the Senate Committee on Rules, and another one asking Escudero to take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on Monday, while the rest of the senator-judges to take oath on Tuesday at 4 p.m.</p><p>Both motions were approved, and Escudero took his oath past 9 p.m., or after about five hours of on-the-record deliberations during the plenary sessions as well as off-the-record discussions among members of the Senate.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1932061496374358222&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-06-09T08%3A52%3A28.424580%3Afc7026cb-f94d-43d4-a3ac-4a5298c4736e%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=3ac45f53857663c557405d75a86162bde8f9d67c&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:552px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1932061496374358222"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>It was clarified by the Senate, however, that the impeachment court will be convening on Wednesday as scheduled.</p><div><strong>CONVENING AS SCHEDULED</strong></div><p>The discussions were delayed on discussions whether the oaths would mean the court has been constituted. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III insisted as much. Senator Ronald dela Rosa disagreed. Escudero said this is akin to winning senators taking their oaths earlier than the start of the term.</p><p>Senator Robin Padilla clarifies that Escudero&#x27;s oath does not mean the court is not convened. Senator Villanueva confirms they are not convening the court yet.</p><p>Senator Risa Hontiveros said they agreed to the referral of the impeachment to the Senate Committee on Rules and that the natural effect of the oath is the convening of the court.</p><p>Dela Rosa said the majority is kind enough to accede to the minority. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano bares the consensus: Escudero takes oath as presiding officer tonight, and other senators will take their oaths tomorrow, but the convening is still on Wednesday.</p><p>The development spared the body from a vote to divide the chamber on the minority&#x27;s motion, which would have been viewed as an early indicator of what senators think of the impeachment against Vice President Duterte.</p><p>The prosecution panel&#x27;s scheduled presentation at the Senate was moved to June 11 instead of June 2 to tackle pending bills before the 19th Congress adjourns, Escudero had announced.</p><p>In his speech before senators, Escudero said starting the impeachment trial should allow lengthy and free-flowing debate.</p><p>The Senate, he also argued, is not only governed by the Constitution but also by its rules, precedents, and jurisprudence from the Supreme Court.</p><p>Escudero reiterated in his speech that he <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/9/chiz-says-won-t-listen-to-those-rushing-sara-duterte-trial-1355" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">would not listen to parties for or against the conviction of impeached Duterte</a> and that he would do what is right and what is stated in the Constitution.</p>

<p>The Senate minority failed to trigger the commencement of the trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday after a majority of senators rejected the move.</p>

The Senate minority failed to trigger the commencement of the trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday after a majority of senators rejected the move.

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Senate minority fails to convene impeachment court on Monday

RG Cruz,

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 09, 2025 09:16 PM PHT

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Updated Jun 10, 2025 10:32 AM PHT

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