THE Senate opened Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, with her political career — and a planned 2028 presidential run — in the balance.
Thousands of police were deployed around the Senate to provide additional security for the trial as protesters calling for Duterte’s conviction began gathering outside.
About an hour before the hearing began, the vice president’s office said she would not appear in person.
“We, her lawyers, are here... to prove the allegations against her have no basis,” Michael Poa of Duterte’s defense team told reporters.
In a statement, Duterte said the decision to “appear through counsel rather than testify personally does not diminish accountability or imply a lack of transparency.”
Only 21 senator-judges
With 21 senator-judges present, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, as the presiding officer, convened the court. Three senators — Duterte allies — were not present. Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta have been arrested on plunder charges, while Sen. Ronald dela Rosa is in hiding to avoid arrest by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity for leading the bloody drug war during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Escudero’s role
Day 1 of the trial focused on preliminaries, which included the election of Sen. Francis Escudero as presiding officer, a move that was questioned by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
But Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the Constitution specified that the chief justice would preside only if the president is on trial. In all other impeachment cases, he added, Congress has the constitutional authority to adopt and amend its own impeachment rules.
“Nowhere in the Constitution, in the provisions, on public accountability and impeachment does it say that the Senate president must preside when the vice president is under trial,” Pangilinan said.
Sen. Loren Legarda, on the other hand, said when the Constitution is silent, the intent of its framers should guide the choice of the presiding officer.
This prompted Gatchalian to divide the house. Voting 12-8, the court elected Escudero as presiding officer.
Gatchalian said the election of Escudero as presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court is intended to ensure that both the impeachment trial and the Senate’s broader constitutional responsibilities receive full attention.
He said he personally proposed Escudero’s election to lead the day-to-day proceedings of the impeachment court, citing the demands posed by the impeachment trial alongside the chamber’s legislative agenda.
He said assigning Escudero to oversee the trial would allow the Senate leadership to devote sufficient attention to both the impeachment proceedings and pending legislative priorities.
Under the arrangement, Escudero will preside over the daily conduct of the impeachment trial, while Gatchalian said he will retain overall supervision of the impeachment court as Senate President and remain closely involved to ensure that the proceedings comply with the Constitution, the Senate’s Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, and due process requirements.
Gatchalian said the setup would also allow him to focus on other major responsibilities of the Senate, but said the decision should not be interpreted as diminishing the importance of the impeachment trial.
“I want to assure the people that this does not mean that we are ignoring the gravity of this trial. In fact, it demonstrates our determination to give full attention, both to the trial and to the other duties entrusted to the Senate,” he said.
Appearances entered
The members of the prosecution and defense panels later entered their appearance before the Senate Impeachment Court, which signaled the trial proper.
“We are 11 House prosecutors and 15 private prosecutors,” said Rep. Gerville Luistro. “We are ready your honor,” she added.
The private prosecutors, who work “under the control and supervision of House panel of prosecutors,” was led by Lorna Kapunan.
The 15 members of the defense panel, including Duterte’s former spokesman Michael Poa, entered their appearance for the vice president.
The prosecution and defense were given 15 minutes each to deliver their opening statements.
Green box
The court also resolved pending matters brought during the pre-trial conference, particularly the custody of the “BIR box” containing the tax records of Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio.
The court ruled to return it to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
“The court is not yet in custodial legis of this box given that there is no lawful court order issued by the court on this box to be turned over to the Senate. Moreso, that this is not yet offered evidence. The chair therefore orders that the BIR box, closed sealed and not in receipt be sent back to the BIR or the Bureau of Internal Revenue without prejudice to any action that the court may make,” Escudero said.
VP a no-show
In a statement, Duterte said that the opinion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that she should attend the trial is “of no importance.”
“Impeachment proceedings must be guided by the Constitution and due process. The respondent has the right to be represented by counsel, and the decision to personally testify is a matter of legal strategy and constitutional rights,” Duterte said.
She also said that the burden is on the prosecution to prove its case, and that the integrity of the impeachment trial depends on its adherence to the rule of law, not on whether the respondent would take the stand.
“At all times, public officials are best served by keeping their personal opinions to themselves and relying instead on the law, established policies, scientific evidence, and objective facts when addressing matters of public concern,” Duterte said.
Impeachment charges
The House of Representatives impeached the 48-year-old daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte on May 11 on allegations of graft, corruption, bribery and an alleged assassination plot against Marcos and other members of his family.
But only a guilty verdict by two-thirds of the bitterly divided 24-seat Senate can strip her of the vice presidency and permanently bar her from elected office.
The articles of impeachment focus on misappropriation of public funds, unexplained assets, bribery of public officials and the alleged death threat against Marcos and other family members.
The threat against Marcos stemmed from a late-night news briefing in which Duterte claimed to have hired an assassin to kill the president should he have her cut down first.
It will be the focus of the initial stages of the trial, which could take months if prosecutors are given their requested 62 days to present evidence.
A Senate in turmoil
Hours before the trial began, Marcoleta, who would have served as one of its judges became the second Duterte Senate ally arrested on corruption charges in just over a month.
Marcoleta’s decision to turn himself in was the latest in a series of institutional shocks at the Senate.
In May, Marcoleta and 12 others lawmakers aligned with Duterte took control of the Senate barely an hour before the House impeachment vote, a move that was later reversed amid a boycott by the vice president’s allies.
Dela Rosa, enforcer of her father’s bloody drug crackdown — briefly took refuge in the Senate building as officers attempted to execute an ICC warrant against him.
He disappeared after a tense standoff that saw Senate security guards fire shots.
Another pro-Duterte senator, Estrada, was arrested on June 1 for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth more than P573 million over a flood control project.
The Constitution requires a guilty vote by “two-thirds of all the members” of the Senate — or 16 votes — to convict, but impeachment prosecutor Representative Gerville Luistro has argued the threshold should only include senators who are physically present.
But Escudero emphasized that a two-thirds vote of all 24 senators, or at least 16 votes, is required to convict the vice president, and reaffirmed that the proceedings will strictly follow the 1987 Constitution.
Even if the formula were adjusted, however, Cleve Arguelles of pollster WR Numero said “there is a very difficult pathway to conviction.”
Dynasties at stake
While President Marcos has taken care to publicly distance himself from the impeachment process, it has unfolded against the backdrop of a blistering political brawl between the Marcos and Duterte dynasties.
A long-simmering feud exploded into open warfare last year with Duterte’s first impeachment — later overturned by the Supreme Court — and the subsequent arrest and transfer of her father to face crimes against humanity charges at the ICC.
“All of these factions are fighting for their political futures,” WR Numero’s Arguelles said.
“For the Marcos administration... they have to make sure that the next administration won’t go after them.” The Palace on Monday said President Marcos did not need to monitor the trial. Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the chief executive had officials matters to attend to following his recent official visit to Canada and could not “simply sit around and watch the proceedings.”
Opening statements
During the trial, the prosecution and the defense presented their opening statements.
Luistro emphasized the importance of the impeachment trial to the public, especially to the most vulnerable sectors of the society, such as overseas Filipino workers, teachers, and drivers.
WITH KRISTINA MARALIT, ARIC JOHN SY CUA, ALLEN LIMOS, AFP
