Gatchalian to preside over VP Sara impeachment trial
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said that he will preside over the Senate impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, contrary to previous reports that the majority block was eyeing Sen. Chiz Escudero for the position.
“Under our rules, ang Senate President ang magpe-preside,” Gatchalian told dzMM on Friday, July 3, when asked to confirm if they have already decided which senator to elect as the presiding officer. “Ako ang magpe-preside.”
(Under our rules, the Senate president will preside. I will preside.)
Sen. Ping Lacson said in June that the majority bloc was planning to elect Escudero as the presiding officer, following the amended Senate rule that allows the designation or election of a different senator aside from the Senate president.
Gatchalian also said that aside from preparing the chamber itself, he is also already studying the technicalities of presiding over the Senate impeachment court, as well as the merit of the case.
“Napakabigat ng preparation dahil tinitignan namin lahat ng senaryo, tinitignan namin lahat ng posibleng mangyari. Kaya mahabang pag-aayos at mahabang preparasyon,” Gatchalian said.
(The preparation is intense because we are looking at all [possible] scenarios, we are looking at everything that may happen. So, the preparations are long.)
No conviction threshold discussion yet
All elected senators, except the lawmaker-in-hiding Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa and suspended Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, are expected to attend the start of the impeachment trial on Monday, according to Gatchalian.
“Lahat ng physically pwedeng mag-participate inaasahan natin na papasok on Monday,” Gatchalian said.
Currently, there are only 22 senators who are expected to appear as senator-judges during the impeachment proceedings.
Dela Rosa is still in hiding from authorities to evade a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court. Estrada, on the other hand, is suspended for 90 days and back in jail over his plunder case related to flood control corruption.
"Related to that, matters related to the conviction threshold will not be discussed yet on the first day of the impeachment proceedings, Gatchalian said. “May tamang araw at tamang panahon para pag-usapan ‘yan.” (There is a proper day and time to discuss that.)
The 92-day impeachment proceedings may last for 7 to 8 months, according to Gatchalian. Starting next week, trials will be conducted from Monday to Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The schedule will shift from Tuesday to Thursday after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address on July 27.
The Senate impeachment court will be open to the general public with 61 allocated seats. House prosecutors also said that it will be broadcast in mixed English and Tagalog to make the trial mass-friendly.
As of July 3, the Senate has already sent a letter to Duterte directing her to appear before the Senate impeachment court either in person or through counsel.
Duterte is facing an impeachment for alleged graft and corruption, grave threat, unexplained wealth and misuse of confidential funds.
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