Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Senators formally convene as an impeachment court to try the complaints filed against Vice President Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on May 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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Senators formally convene as an impeachment court to try the complaints filed against Vice President Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on May 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17816883803471781688377092.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Senators formally convene as an impeachment court to try the complaints filed against Vice President Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on May 18, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — The election of a new Senate president should mean Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial will proceed without hitches, members of the House prosecution panel said.</p><p>The Senate, during a special session of Congress on Wednesday, elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian Senate president. Gatchalian&#x27;s election by a 13-person quorum also officially made his bloc the majority.</p><p>“With the Senate leadership issue now settled, we expect the impeachment trial to proceed unhampered,” Mamamayang Liberal Party-List Rep. Leila De Lima, an impeachment prosecutor, said.</p><p>Kabataan Party-List Rep. Renee Co, panel spokesperson, said the election should clear obstacles to the start of trial on July 6 and the pre-trial conference on Thursday, June 18.</p><p>&quot;This is a welcome development, and now that the Senate has resolved the issue, we also hope that the Senate can focus now with its constitutional duty to proceed with the impeachment trial without necessary delay and other distractions,&quot; House Impeachment Trial Spokesperson and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong  added.</p><p>He said the House prosecution panel will respect the Senate Impeachment Court’s decision on who will preside over Duterte’s impeachment trial, even Sen. Francis Escudero.</p><p>During the 19th Congress, Escudero was the Presiding Officer of the Senate Impeachment Court when it ordered the remand of the Impeachment Complaint against Duterte to the lower chamber.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s water under the bridge. We are talking about this new impeachment complaint. And now that the Senate has convened as an impeachment court, we are fully confident that whoever sits there as a presiding officer, because of the degree and the volume of evidence that we will provide and we will present to the court, we are confident that we can actually get this through,&quot; Adiong said.</p><p>House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos of Ilocos Norte said he is confident senators will be “impartial and fair” when they perform their duty as judges in Duterte’s impeachment trial.</p><p>Rep. Marcos, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s son, said he supports the call of Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro — lead House impeachment prosecutor — for the trial to have real-time translation in multiple Philippine languages.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/16/lacson-senate-to-decide-conviction-threshold-in-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-1821"><strong>Lacson: Senate to decide conviction threshold in Sara Duterte impeachment trial<br/></strong></a></div><p>“I think maybe just for the sake of informing the Filipino people as to what are the goings-on of the trial itself and between both legislative chambers, I think it&#x27;s a good idea,” he said.</p><p>He declined comment on whether he thinks the House prosecution team has a strong case but said Luistro has &quot;done a great job in steering and managing the impeachment in itself.&quot;</p><p>He said he sees no need for House leadership to intervene or issue directives to the prosecutors.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s different now… I don&#x27;t only represent the 1st District of Ilocos Norte, I&#x27;m not only the son of the president, but I also represent the institution now as majority leader,&quot; he said.</p><p>Marcos acknowledged he let his emotions get the better of him when he was the first to sign the articles of impeachment against Duterte during the 19th Congress.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>HOUSE AUTHORIZES PROSECUTORS TO ACT ON ITS BEHALF<br/></strong></div><p>The House of Representatives formally authorized on Wednesday its prosecutors to act on its behalf in all pre-trial proceedings and incidental matters before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, ahead of the June 18 pre-trial conference.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/17/lacson-says-escudero-to-preside-over-sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-1602"><strong>Lacson says Escudero to preside over Sara Duterte impeachment trial</strong></a></div><p>San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Zamora, also an impeachment prosecutor, moved for the authorization of the panel and the motion passed without objections.</p><p>Under the authority granted by the chamber, the prosecution team may simplify issues, secure stipulations and admissions of facts and documents, identify witnesses, establish the number of witnesses, set trial dates, and undertake other actions necessary to facilitate the prompt disposition of the case.</p><p>The motion also authorizes the prosecution panel to enlist private counsel, experts and consultants. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CO, ADIONG QUESTION DEFENSE&#x27;S PRE-TRIAL BRIEF</strong></div><p>Co and her fellow House trial spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur also criticized the pre-trial brief that Duterte&#x27;s defense team submitted to the Senate Impeachment Court.</p><p>Co said the defense listed many of the same witnesses and documents that prosecutors did, prompting her to ask if Duterte&#x27;s lawyers just plan to attack the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses.</p><p>&quot;Gusto natin makita ‘yung affirmative answers, ano ‘yung kanyang depensa doon sa mga alegasyon,&quot; Co, a lawyer, said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/15/prosecution-defense-file-pre-trial-briefs-for-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-2119"><strong>Prosecution, defense file pre-trial briefs for Sara Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial</strong></a></div><p>Adiong, for his part, observed, the Defense’s pre-trial brief “is long on pages but short on answers.”</p><p>&quot;The question that ordinary Filipinos are asking remains unanswered: Nasaan ang malinaw at direktang pagsagot sa mga alegasyon?&quot; he said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;A serious pre-trial brief should clarify issues, identify the relevance of witnesses, and assist the tribunal in focusing on what matters,&quot; he also said.</p>

<p>The election of a new Senate president should mean Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial will proceed without hitches, members of the House prosecution panel said.</p>

The election of a new Senate president should mean Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial will proceed without hitches, members of the House prosecution panel said.

End of Senate row should clear way for VP Duterte impeachment trial — prosecution panel

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End of Senate row should clear way for VP Duterte impeachment trial — prosecution panel

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 17, 2026 05:31 PM PHT

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Updated June 17, 2026 06:35 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

Sara Duterte

Impeachment Trial

Senate

Sherwin Gatchalian

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