Senate majority: No delay in VP impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines —   Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano assured the public yesterday that the upper chamber would not delay the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, once the Articles of Impeachment are officially transmitted by the House of Representatives.

Facing questions about how the Senate will handle the looming transmittal, Cayetano said he has consulted with his predecessor, ousted Senate president Vicente Sotto III, regarding the proper procedural steps.

“I consulted also Sen. Sotto… So, we will do what has to be done and there won’t be delays, you judge us on our actions,” he said.

To ensure fairness and consensus, the new Senate chief emphasized that he plans to convene a caucus among the new majority bloc the moment the transmittal arrives.

“I don’t know what time we’ll receive (the transmittal) that’s why I want a majority caucus so it’s not a decision of only one group,” he explained.

Cayetano stressed the urgency of resolving the unprecedented political crisis, warning that a prolonged trial would paralyze the chamber’s legislative duties.

“We won’t delay. There’s no reason, right? The country needs us in other capacities,” he said.

“The longer this drags out, the longer our attention is on it. But it’s such an important accountability process, so we will give it full attention,” Cayetano said.

Earlier, Sotto said the chamber was proactively preparing for the highly anticipated legal battle, stressing that the Senate will act with “dispatch” and “forthwith” the moment they receive the complaint.

Two hundred fifty-seven House members voted in favor of impeaching the Vice President, more than double the required one third or 106 votes needed to impeach an official.

The House, which is dominated by President Marcos’ allies, first impeached Duterte in July 2025. However, the Supreme Court voided it for violating a rule stating that no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a year.

New prosecution team

The House of Representatives has once again elected 11 lawmakers to serve as prosecutors in the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

Of the 11 names, six are hold-overs from the roster formed in 2025 when the House first impeached Duterte, namely House justice committee chairperson Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, Bukidnon Rep. Keith Flores, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez and House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor.

The five newcomers are: Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao.

House yet to transmit articles

The House has yet to transmit to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.

House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil said the Secretariat is still reproducing copies of the Articles of Impeachment and their attachments, which she said “number in the thousands of pages,” for submission to the Senate.

“The Articles of Impeachment and their attachments 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. The accuracy of our submission is our paramount concern,” Garafil said in a statement.

Palaces sees fair trial

Malacañang expects senators to hold a fair trial on the allegations against Duterte once they convene as an impeachment court, as speculations mount that the proceedings will be blocked by the chamber’s new leadership.

Duterte is facing impeachment complaints over the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Marcos and accusations related to undeclared wealth, suspicious multi-billion-peso bank transactions and questionable use of confidential funds.

She has denied wrongdoing.

“The House of Representatives has decided and most likely, they saw the evidence. According to them, more voted to have the Vice President impeached... perhaps it was based on the documents and the evidence they saw,” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a briefing yesterday.

“We hope once it reaches the Senate, the judges, our senators will be fair. This is for the people,” Castro added. –  Alexis Romero, Daphne Galvez, Bella Cariaso, Delon Porcalla