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MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is officially laying the groundwork for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with the chamber’s leadership treating the transmittal of the articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives as an absolute certainty.
Speaking in an interview on dwIZ yesterday, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson revealed that Senate President Vicente Sotto III recently convened a meeting with the majority bloc to prepare for the grueling legal battle ahead.
“In fact, the Senate President called a meeting because he had already anticipated that. He said he has information that it’s almost – no, not almost – it’s a certainty that the articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate,” Lacson said in Filipino.
Lacson said he proposed a hybrid schedule to ensure the Senate’s regular legislative and investigative duties do not grind to a halt during the trial.
While the Senate President initially suggested daily afternoon impeachment trials following morning plenary sessions, Lacson proposed dedicating Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (3 p.m. onwards) exclusively to the impeachment trial.
Regular plenary sessions would then be held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
“Let’s keep the mornings free so there will be room for our committee hearings,” Lacson explained, noting that the senators also need mornings to consult with legal staff and retired justices to study the Rules of Court and prepare clarificatory questions.
According to Lacson, a majority of the senators present agreed with his proposed schedule.
Pre-empting legal roadblocks
Lacson also disclosed that they are already preparing for attempts by minority allies of the Vice President to block or derail the proceedings.
He specifically mentioned Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who has reportedly signaled his intent to question the basis of the articles of impeachment before the trial even begins.
To prepare for this, Lacson advised Sotto – who is not a lawyer but will serve as the presiding officer – to study up.
Addressing calls for known allies of the Vice President to recuse themselves from the trial, Lacson stressed that it is a matter of personal honor.
“That depends on a sense of propriety. If there’s no sense of propriety, then they won’t inhibit themselves,” he added.
Despite public concerns that the impeachment trial will distract the government from addressing the ongoing economic shocks caused by the Middle East crisis, Lacson maintained that the Senate cannot ignore its constitutional mandate.
“What will we do when it arrives? We have no choice,” Lacson said, reiterating that holding the trial is a constitutional duty.
Meanwhile, Lacson dismissed recurring rumors of a leadership coup in the Senate during the session break, assuring the public that the majority bloc remains solid behind Sotto.
Separate cases
As the Senate prepares for the trial, separate proceedings involving Duterte are also moving forward, according to Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon.
Ridon, chairman of the House committee on public accounts, said the impeachment case will proceed independently of pending criminal and administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as the obligation to return P73 million in confidential funds following the Commission on Audit’s (COA) final ruling on a notice of disallowance.
He stressed that Duterte cannot selectively engage in proceedings across different constitutional bodies, noting that each case carries distinct legal consequences.
“We cannot allow the proceedings in the Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, and House of Representatives to collide because the consequence with each other is different even though the basis of the facts and defenses that they have are the same,” Ridon said in a statement.
“It is clear that this will proceed separately and will also be decided separately,” he added.
Ridon explained that COA’s ruling could compel the return of P73 million in disallowed funds, potentially leading to civil remedies such as forfeiture or recovery proceedings against assets once the decision becomes final and executory.
“In my understanding, the P73 million can be run after through legal remedies like garnishment of bank accounts and other properties,” Ridon said.
He added that the malversation complaint before the Ombudsman may result in criminal charges that could be elevated to the Sandiganbayan, where a conviction could lead to imprisonment and forfeiture of assets.
Impeachment proceedings, on the other hand, carry the constitutional penalties of removal from office and disqualification from holding public office.
Ridon emphasized that returning the P73 million would not extinguish liability in other cases.
“Even if the P73 million is returned, it cannot outlaw the proceedings in the Ombudsman and it will not also affect the impeachment proceedings,” Ridon said.
“The issue is about misuse of confidential funds that will give way to the finding of betrayal of public trust which is an impeachable offense. The impeachment proceedings against the vice president will continue whatever happened to the issue of restitution,” he added.
Ridon noted that Duterte may still elevate the COA ruling to the Supreme Court for review.
However, he pointed out that the COA Commission Proper has already found that the Office of the Vice President failed to justify the P73 million in confidential expenses, citing insufficient documentary evidence to establish the nature, success, and necessity of the alleged intelligence activities. — Jose Rodel Clapano
