NINE senators who will serve as judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte have participated in similar proceedings before.
Senators Loren Legarda and Vicente Sotto III took part in the trial of then-president Joseph Estrada from Dec. 7, 2000 to Jan. 16, 2001, and that of then-chief justice Renato Corona from Dec. 12, 2011 to May 29, 2012.
Seven others were involved in the impeachment of Corona: Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid and Francis Pangilinan. They all voted to convict Corona.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was also one of the senator-judges during Corona’s impeachment. He and then-fellow senator-judges Joker Arroyo and Miriam Defensor-Santiago voted to acquit the chief justice.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros was an Akyabayan Partylist representative when she filed a graft complaint against Corona before the Ombudsman.
Rep. Leila de Lima, who was the justice secretary during Corona’s impeachment, is now with the prosecution team. She testified that Corona supported the issuance of a temporary restraining order on a travel ban against former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Jinggoy Estrada will not be able to participate in Duterte’s trial. The Ombudsman suspended him for six months after he was arrested over a plunder case.
