MANILA, Philippines — Senate Presiding Officer Francis Escudero on Tuesday expressed hope that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will be concluded before Christmas or the New Year.
Speaking to reporters, Escudero said he has long favored resolving the proceedings within the year so the country can move forward and focus on new challenges in 2027.
“If you ask me, ideally, in a perfect world, I hope the impeachment proceedings will be concluded before Christmas or before the New Year, regardless of who wins or loses,” Escudero said.
“Whichever side prevails, I hope we can overcome this and bring it to an end within this year so that we can face new challenges and problems in the coming year,” he added.
Escudero however clarified that the Senate has no fixed timeline for the trial.
“We are not following any timeline. We release the schedule every month, if you notice. The schedule I officially released was only until November. I released the November schedule in October. We do not yet have a schedule for December. That will depend on what happens this month,” he said.
