(UPDATE) THE Senate Impeachment Court announced Wednesday that it will delay the start of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte until the House prosecution panel is restructured by the new composition mandated by the 20th Congress.
In a press conference, Senate President Francis Escudero, who will preside over the impeachment court, emphasized the importance of having legal teams for both the defense and prosecution to ensure a fair trial.
Escudero said the beginning of the 20th Congress in July necessitates a new composition of the House of Representatives’ prosecution panel. This change is required due to the graduation of certain members, the departure of others following the recent elections and the transition of some to different positions.
Despite the delays, he assured the public that preparations for the impeachment trial will continue as the 20th Congress convenes. He said several vital matters need to be addressed before the trial can begin, including establishing impeachment rules and resolving pending inquiries related to the complaints filed against the vice president.
Escudero outlined the timeline of events leading up to the current status of the case. He noted that on June 10, the Senate, acting as the impeachment court, issued a summons. The vice president submitted her response ad cautelam on June 23. Following that, the House of Representatives has until Monday noon to submit a reply, although Escudero emphasized that providing a reply is not mandatory.
When questioned about the vice president’s assertion that she cannot be compelled to address the impeachment allegations because the articles of impeachment have been returned to the House, Escudero refrained from commenting directly. “It is not for me to judge or offer an opinion on that,” he said, underscoring that it is the impeachment court’s responsibility to address such matters.
In response to a question about typical courtroom procedures, Escudero confirmed that while a party may refrain from answering, the absence of a reaction in the impeachment court could prevent them from presenting arguments later unless exceptional circumstances arise.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday submitted to the Senate impeachment court a resolution attesting that the impeachment proceedings it initiated against the vice president complied with the 1987 Constitution.
The House adopted the resolution on June 11.
The House, which solely has the power to initiate impeachment cases, impeached Duterte in February 2025 over alleged misuse of confidential funds, among others.
Only the Senate can try and decide impeachment cases.
Veteran lawyer Antonio Audie Bucoy, the spokesman for the House’s prosecution team for the impeachment trial of Duterte, said on Tuesday that the one-year bar rule against impeachment proceedings was not violated.
Duterte had asked the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the impeachment complaint against her, saying it “is void ab initio” or from the start.
Citing decided Supreme Court cases, Bucoy said in Filipino and English in a press conference on Tuesday that “initiation happens when the complaint, impeachment complaint, is endorsed to the House Committee on Justice. That did not happen to the first three impeachment complaints.”
Prior to the House impeaching Duterte, three impeachment complaints had been filed at the House. What reached the Senate was the fourth complaint.
Bucoy said the impeachment complaint that reached the Senate did not need to pass through the committee because it already had the endorsement of over a third of House lawmakers.
The 1987 Constitution states that if the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least a third of all House members, the same shall constitute the impeachment articles, “and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”
The Senate has come under fire for not following the provision to proceed with the trial “forthwith” — or immediately.
The Constitution prohibits the initiation of impeachment proceedings against the same official more than once within a one-year period.
Also on Wednesday, the vice president named her former spokesman at the Department of Education as the official mouthpiece of the defense panel in her impeachment.
During a press briefing in San Fernando, Pampanga, Duterte named lawyer Michael Wesley Poa as the official spokesman for the defense team who would answer queries regarding the impeachment trial.
“Any questions on the impeachment, you can direct it to him,” she said.
Poa is one of the 16 lawyers hired by Duterte to become part of the defense team, which is composed mostly of lawyers from the Fortun, Narvasa and Salazar firm.
