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Marc Jayson Cayabyab - The Philippine Star
May 22, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The senators have agreed that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will start on July 6, Monday, after the pretrial and summons have been complied with.
Senators held an all-member caucus on Wednesday night to discuss the impeachment calendar, now that the summons had been served on the Vice President, who was given until June 1 to formally answer the case against her.
The trial proper can start in July, with the whole of June set for the pretrial and the marking of evidence.
This means that while Congress is adjourned for the sine die break from June 6 to July 26, the Senate will be continuing with proceedings now that it has convened as an impeachment court.
When the trial proper starts on July 6, the Senate can dedicate its time to holding trial from Monday to Wednesday, 2 p.m. onwards, and the filing of pleadings on Thursday.
When the second regular session resumes July 27 onwards or after the State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Senate will hold its regular plenary sessions Monday to Wednesday mornings, and trial in the afternoon. Senators can hold their usual committee hearings on Thursday and Friday, or even resume the impeachment trial on Thursday.
The calendar was disclosed to the media by Sen. Erwin Tulfo in a phone interview yesterday.
“It is continuous. Our work will be five days. The day off of senators will be Saturday, Sunday,” Tulfo said.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, the impeachment presiding officer, has yet to brief the media about the impeachment timeline.
Cayetano has largely avoided the Senate media since Malacañang refuted his claim that the Senate was under attack on May 13, when the Senate sergeant-at-arms fired several shots at retreating National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents on the suspicion that they were about to serve fugitive Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Sara attendance optional
The defense team of Vice President Duterte may opt not to present her during the impeachment trial as part of the strategy to control the narrative, a professor from the University of the Philippines College of Law said on Thursday.
In an interview with dzMM, UP College of Law associate dean and assistant professor Paolo Emmanuel Tamase said that except for former chief justice Renato Corona, all impeachable officers who faced the impeachment trial chose to be absent during the proceedings.
Cayetano said Duterte has until June 1 to formally answer her impeachment case, as her camp confirmed receiving the Senate summons.
Tamase said of the four Articles of Impeachment, Article II on unexplained wealth is the strongest case against Duterte.
“The SALN (statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth) is pretty much the clearest for now because it is documented and based on what happened in the House of Representatives, the couple has not given any explanation. Even though Vice President Duterte’s husband is a businessman, the movement of cash in their bank accounts is too big, based on the Anti–Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report, if compared to Vice President Duterte’s salary,” Tamase added.
Bank accounts tied to Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio had been flagged for suspicious and covered transactions from 2006 to 2025 worth P6.77 billion, the AMLC said.
Aside from the unexplained wealth, the three other crimes included were confidential funds or Article 1; Article III on bribery and death threats on President Marcos or Article IV.
Remote voting opposed
House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro opposed proposals that would allow senator-judges to participate or register their vote in impeachment matters even if they are not physically present in the Senate, saying the gravity of proceedings would need their personal presence.
“Senator-judges must personally witness the trial and cast a vote personally because of the importance of this process,” she said in radio interview over dzME.
Luistro issued the remark after Sen. Rodante Marcoleta recommended an amendment to the Senate rules to allow Dela Rosa, who has a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC, to participate and vote in the impeachment proceedings through Zoom.
The presumption of innocence applies to the Vice President and it is the prosecution that must prove its case against her, former presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo said yesterday.
– Bella Cariaso, Daphne Galvez
