Metro Manila, Philippines – The Senate will convene as an Impeachment Court on Monday, May 18 at 3 p.m., or at the soonest possible time after receiving the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte from the House of Representatives, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said on Thursday, May 14.
Cayetano said the Senate secretariat had been directed to include the Articles of Impeachment in the calendar of ordinary business.
He said the Senate is preparing a draft calendar for the proceedings and stressed there would be no delays in the impeachment process.
“Actually what we’re doing now after the meeting, we’re gonna make a draft calendar,” Cayetano said. “The calendar will not be based on anything that is discretionary. It will be based on objectivity.”
He added that the schedule would follow the timelines prescribed under Senate rules, including the number of days allotted for responses before the start of trial proceedings.
“Walang magiging delays,” he said.
[Translation: There will be no delays.]
Cayetano also pushed back against speculation that some senators were seeking to derail the impeachment process, saying members of the majority bloc remained committed to convening the impeachment court.
“You always talk in the realm of probabilities and possibilities,” he said when asked about the possibility of motions to dismiss the complaint.
“But sa 13 (majority bloc), walang nagsabing ayaw mag-trial.”
[Translation: But among the 13 members of the majority bloc, no one has said they do not want the trial to proceed.]
“I will act in accordance with the rules. There always has to be legal grounds and I will decide based on truth and evidence,” he added.
Cayetano also described recent incidents involving the Senate as an “unprecedented attack” against the institution, while calling for unity among lawmakers as the impeachment proceedings move forward.
“Again, I am trying to get a united Senate,” he said. “The senators are people by just simply following the law, the Constitution, the rules and what is right.”
Under Senate rules, senators are expected to take their oath as judges once the impeachment court is convened, after which summons may be issued to Duterte ahead of the trial proper.
