Daven Tamayo

Will change in Senate leadership affect Sara Duterte impeachment trial?

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The recent change in Senate leadership should not get in the way of it convening as an impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to some House impeachment prosecutors.House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and ML Party List Rep. Leila de Lima couldn’t help but doubt the timing of the Senate coup, which happened on the day the lower chamber voted on Duterte’s impeachment. “Karamihan ng majority of 13 ngayon ay mga pro-Duterte, mga die-hard pa nga Duterte supporters sila. But of course, hindi ko naman nilalahat. Mayroon naman d’yan siguro moderate lang ‘yung pagiging supporter nila sa mga Duterte. Pero ‘yun ho ang hinihintay ng taumbayan. What&#x27;s next?” she asked.“Magko-convene ba kaagad sila as an impeachment court? Again, they have to. Wala na naman silang choice sa usapin na ‘yan, kasi malinaw sa Konstitusyon na trial shall forthwith proceed kapag nandoon na sa kanila yung articles of impeachment. Umaasa pa rin tayo na gagawin ng Senado kahit mayroong pagbabago ng liderato, na gagawin ng Senado ng ayon lahat sa Saligang Batas,” De Lima added.For now, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua is giving the new Senate President the benefit of the doubt.“Bigyan natin siya ng pagkakataon na patunayan na ito&#x27;y walang kinalaman. Dahil naniniwala si Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano ay isang abogado at tayo&#x27;y naniniwala na ginagalang niya at gagalangin niya ang ating saligang batas. Bigyan natin siya ng benefit of the doubt…Umaasa tayo na kung ano man yung binitawang salita ng bagong halal na Senate President, ito&#x27;y kanyang tutupdin,” he said.Akbayan Party List Rep. Diokno also asserted that regardless of who leads the Senate, it should fulfill its Constitutional mandate to forthwith convene as an impeachment court once the articles of impeachment are transmitted to it.“Well, unang-una, paano mo madi-dismiss ang kaso kung hindi mag-convene ang court? Siyempre, kailangan mauna ‘yung pag-convene ng court. Otherwise, wala silang power, wala silang jurisdiction to act on the case at all. Pangalawa, once the impeachment court convenes, they are bound by the Constitution, and the Constitution says, conduct a trial. It does not give an option to the Senate to dismiss the case outright,” he said.If the Senate fails to convene as an impeachment court, De Lima said it would constitute a “breach of their constitutional duty”.“That would be the proper course of action- a petition for mandamus before the Supreme Court...Now, if you&#x27;re asking about mayroon bang administrative liability, criminal liability, then nandyan ‘yung dereliction of duty, administrative, pwede sa Ombudsman, ‘yung ganyan na mga pagpapabaya sa kanilang Constitutional duty,” she explained.<div> </div><div>ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT</div>The House of Representatives Secretariat was still reproducing copies of the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte, according to House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil on Tuesday night.“The Articles of Impeachment and their attachments, which number in the thousands of pages, are currently being reproduced, collated, and checked to ensure that all copies are appropriately organized to ensure that each copy is a faithful reproduction of what was approved by the House of Representatives,” she said in a statement.“The accuracy of our submission is our paramount concern,” she added.On Monday, the House of Representatives impeached Duterte, with 257 affirmative votes, 25 negative votes, and 9 abstentions. It then endorsed to the Senate the House Resolution setting forth the articles of impeachment, and ordered its transmittal.De Lima and fellow House Impeachment Prosecutor Terry Ridon expect the House to complete it on Wednesday.“Wala naman pong delay na masasabi dahil kahapon pa lang kami nagbotohan at wala rin naman nakalagay sa rules kung ilang araw dapat ito mai-endorse sa Senado,” Chua noted.Among the 25 who voted against Duterte’s impeachment are Representatives Paolo Duterte, Omar Duterte, and Harold Duterte.The nine who abstained, meanwhile, included Flores, who was elected House impeachment prosecutor.Twenty-six House members did not participate in the voting, including Pampanga 2nd district Representative and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as well as Representatives Eddie Villanueva and Bernadette Escudero, who both have a family member in the Senate.<div> </div><div>PROSECUTORS</div>The House of Representatives elected on Tuesday its 11-member prosecution panel for Duterte’s impeachment trial.They are:<ul><li>Rep. Gerville Luistro </li><li>Rep. Terry Ridon </li><li>Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez </li><li>Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora </li><li>Rep. Lorenz Defensor </li><li>Rep. Chel Diokno </li><li>Rep. Leila De Lima </li><li>Rep. Kaka Bag-Ao </li><li>Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores </li><li>Rep. Lordan Suan </li><li>Rep. Joel Chua</li></ul>“Yes, I&#x27;m ready to serve... ‘Yung nakita n’yo at nakita ng publiko sa Committee on Justice ay katiting lang ‘yan sa mailalabas na ebidensya sa Senado… Kailangan i-push natin na mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang taumbayan na makita ang lahat ng ebidensya,” Diokno said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/12/house-elects-prosecution-panel-for-vp-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-1854">House elects prosecution panel for VP Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial</a></div>“Simula&#x27;t umpisa naman hanggang dulo ng impeachment proceeding, tayo naman ay nakatutok. So kahit papaano, medyo familiar tayo sa kada article na isinasalang. Bagama’t ‘yung confidential fund, ito ay dumaan sa aking committee, kung maalala ninyo, noong 19th Congress pa. So familiar naman po tayo sa lahat,” Chua, for his part, said.

The recent change in Senate leadership should not get in the way of it convening as an impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to some House impeachment prosecutors.

The recent change in Senate leadership should not get in the way of it convening as an impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, according to some House impeachment prosecutors.