SENATOR-JUDGES have reached a consensus to move the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to the afternoon to speed up the proceedings and helping the Senate meet its target of completing the proceedings by December, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Friday.
Gatchalian said the agreement among the senator-judges would be formalized within the week. The shift had been proposed as the Senate seeks to balance its functions as an impeachment court and legislative chamber.
The Senate is considering holding regular plenary sessions in the morning and convening as an impeachment court in the afternoon to give the trial longer and more predictable hearing hours.
Gatchalian said the adjustment is necessary because the trial has been moving at a pace that could push its completion beyond the Senate’s original target.
The Senate is aiming to finish the trial by December, but Gatchalian acknowledged that the proceedings could spill over into next year at its current pace.
“That is why the Senate will adjust its schedule so we can achieve the ‘one witness, one day’ target,” Gatchalian said.
He cited the need to maximize hearing days and avoid further delays, particularly after several trial dates were affected by work suspensions due to inclement weather.
Impeachment court spokesman Reginald “Regie” Tongol said on Wednesday the trial was already slightly behind schedule because of the cancellations.
The proposed afternoon schedule will allow the Senate to hold plenary deliberations and work on the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027.
Gatchalian has warned that simultaneously holding the impeachment trial and regular Senate sessions could result in extremely long working days for senators. Moving the trial to the afternoon would allow the chamber to devote the morning to legislation and reserve a fixed block of time for the impeachment proceedings.
The impeachment court has been conducting hearings beginning at 10 a.m. Since the trial began, proceedings have involved lengthy direct and cross-examinations of witnesses, particularly government auditors who have testified on alleged irregularities involving confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
The prosecution is currently presenting its evidence against Duterte, with state auditors examining the use and liquidation of confidential funds during her tenure as vice president and education secretary.
