MANILA: The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte will likely take place after mid-term elections in May and could be decided by an entirely new group of lawmakers, the Senate president said on Thursday (Feb 6).
Whether or not the trial moves forward in a special session, when the current Senate reconvenes on Jun 2 – or even later – is now up to the country’s 24 sitting senators, Francis Escudero told a press briefing, without offering a timeline for the decision.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on Wednesday for “violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes”.
If convicted, she will be removed from the vice presidency and forever barred from public office.
Her Senate trial, however, “will likely extend into the 20th Congress. That’s almost a sure thing now”, Escudero told reporters Thursday.
The start date “will depend on the rules we approve”, he said. “But I feel the trial has to take place when the Senate is in session. The impeachment court does not have a separate life.”
He went on to explain that even if the trial begins on the watch of current senators, it could be taken over the finish line by the incoming class.
President Ferdinand Marcos, who was previously dismissive of the move to impeach, could also legally call for a special session, though senators would have to accede to that in a vote.
Wednesday’s impeachment vote, which drew ayes from 215 of the body’s 306 members, spelt out allegations including financial fraud, an assassination plot against Marcos, and ties to “drug war” murders in the southern Philippines’ Davao.
