Just one hour needed: Senate minority to push for opening of Sara's impeachment trial this Monday

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June 9, 2025 | 12:14pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate's tiny two-member minority bloc will formally move during Monday's plenary session to convene the impeachment court for Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Sen. Risa Hontiveros announced the plan at a press conference Monday morning, June 9, saying she and Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel III will push for the opening rites — including the reading of articles of impeachment — for the trial.

"Later at the plenary, we in the Senate minority will act to begin fulfilling our constitutional duty," Hontiveros said in mixed English and Filipino. "We in the Senate minority will formally move to commence the opening rites in the impeachment trial of VP Sara Duterte."

Hontiveros said the minority will move for Senate President Francis Escudero to take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court and to administer the oath for all senators to serve as judges.

They will also seek to have the Senate convene as an impeachment court and formally present the articles of impeachment, which the upper chamber received from the House of Representatives in February.

"We are not yet at the trial proper. These are just the opening rites. Oath-taking and formalities. This won’t even take an hour," Hontiveros said. 

"So let's not pretend that one hour is too much to ask," the senator added.

Civil society, members of religious congregations, schools and lawmakers from the House have been urging Escudero and the Senate to begin the impeachment trial after the reading of the charges was postponed from June 2 to 11.

The Senate under Escudero has continued to stall the impeachment proceedings and floated the possibility of having a no trial scenario before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 14.

Hontiveros criticized the delay and said she sees no reason for the Senate to defer the oath-taking and reading of the articles of impeachment today, which she believes will not take up more than an hour. 

"If other proposals in the plenary keep us working until midnight, I think we can find time for this. We have three full days of session left, which can last up to midnight as they have in recent days," Hontiveros said in Filipino.

Duterte faces charges including misuse of funds and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., among others. 

The charges stem partly from Duterte's November 2024 statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed. She has also been accused of misusing P612.5 million  of public funds while serving as vice president and education secretary.

A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate — at least 16 of 24 senators — is required to convict Duterte and remove her from office. If convicted, she would also be disqualified from holding future government positions.

Several groups, including members of different colleges of law, have urged the Senate to proceed with the trial to honor its accountability to the public given the gravity of the allegations against Duterte.

"The Senate must not be defeatist and callous to the growing calls for the institution to fulfill its mandate and begin the impeachment trial," Hontiveros said.