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Neil Jayson Servallos - The Philippine Star
June 8, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Recent events in the Senate related to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has led to the “unpredictability” of members of the 19th Congress and resulted in a game of “blindsiding,” Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III admitted yesterday.
Pimentel voiced his deep concern over the circulating draft resolution to summarily dismiss the impeachment case without trial and the changing timelines of the impeachment.
“That’s why we are suddenly fearful of our colleagues making surprise moves, because there should be no surprises here… why is that? Did they just forget the convening of the court? Or maybe they did not have a plan at all,” he told dzMM TeleRadyo yesterday.
Pimentel cited the original plan to read the Articles of Impeachment on June 2 and convene the impeachment court by June 3.
Senate President Francis Escudero, who is under fire for allegedly derailing the impeachment process, pushed the schedule to June 11 – but with no explicit mention of the court’s convening, a detail Pimentel found suspicious.
Even though Escudero has assured Pimentel that the reading of the Articles of Impeachment and the convening of the Senate as an impeachment court would take place on June 11, he said he was not reassured.
“He even used words like ‘if ever, if ever,’ plus ‘the plenary is supreme.’ Those words make me worried,” he said.
Pimentel recalled that as early as February, he had written Escudero to stress that the Constitution requires the impeachment trial to proceed “forthwith.”
He argued that the Senate could convene as an impeachment court even outside legislative session days.
Pimentel said the subsequent delays and omissions have made him question whether the leadership is still operating in good faith.
“Hopefully, there would no longer be slippery answers and we commit to a schedule… We are violating the Constitution. Everybody must act with good faith,” he warned.
If senators believe the evidence is insufficient, they should acquit after due process, not block proceedings outright, Pimentel noted.
He questioned colleagues who floated the resolution, saying it was out of order as the Senate has not yet convened as an impeachment court.
He also criticized the absence of a formal Senate caucus to discuss impeachment-related matters.
As a member of the minority, he said he has not been included in any broader deliberations.
Pimentel and fellow minority member Sen. Risa Hontiveros remain hopeful that they would still be able to convince their colleagues to convene as an impeachment court.
“We will try our best to explain and explain to convince members of the majority. However, we’re not losing hope because look at the words involved here. Very simple: ‘Trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.’ What’s difficult about that?” he said in a separate interview with dwIZ.
“When I saw the original trial calendar that the Senate President proposed, I knew there would be no trial action in the 19th Congress. Trial action refers to the witness taking the stand, being examined and cross-examined, as well as presentation of evidence – those are gone in the 19th Congress because we’re out of time,” he added.
He further warned against any move to dismiss the impeachment complaint without a formal trial, especially among senators who are not lawyers.
“My advice to all senators, especially non-lawyers: de facto summary dismissal is not allowed. The Constitution said ‘shall and forthwith.’ That’s a mandate. The trial was already delayed, and now you will use that excuse to permanently do away with the trial. What kind of logic is that?” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros refuted Sen. Imee Marcos’ claim that administration senators fear embarrassment due to lack of numbers to convict Duterte.
“My allies grow in number, not just from the minority, but from the majority as well who say that whatever their position on the impeachment is, they believe that we should abide by the Constitution,” she said.
For his part, former Senate president Franklin Drilon cautioned senators against dismissing a case before trial even begins.
“My message to my former colleagues who seek to hide the truth: the resolution is clearly unconstitutional. Do not play with fire. You might get burned,” he said.
