Senate minority to initiate Sara Duterte impeachment trial this Monday

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday bared the Senate minority’s plan to initiate the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.

"My fellow countrymen, we will not allow the Senate to be the first to defy the Constitution," Hontiveros said at a press conference in the Senate. "That is why this afternoon, later in the plenary, we in the Senate minority will take action to begin fulfilling our constitutional duty."

“We in the Senate minority will formally move to commence the opening rites in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte,” she added.

Hontiveros and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III are the only members of the chamber’s opposition bloc.

Senate President Francis Escudero has scheduled the presentation of charges against Duterte by the House of Representatives panel of prosecutors on June 11, the last day of the session before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die.

READ: Presentation of impeachment articles vs Sara Duterte moved to June 11

After the presentation of charges, the Senate can proceed on the same day with convening the impeachment court to try Duterte’s case.

According to Hontiveros, they can now proceed to allow Escudero to take his oath as the presiding officer of the impeachment court and to administer the prescribed oath to all senators as judges of the impeachment court.

“We will also move for the Senate to convene as an impeachment court and for the Articles of Impeachment — received from the House of Representatives back in February — to be formally presented to the body,” she said.

Hontiveros estimated that the opening rites would not even take an hour.

"So let's not pretend an hour is too much to ask. For other proposals in the plenary, we [will] go until midnight. I think we can find time for this," she added.

Hontiveros believes that their motions will no longer require the approval of the majority of 24 senators, saying that this can be decided by the Senate president or the presiding officer.

She also said they would not have to make such motions if the Senate had simply followed its constitutional duty to immediately act on any impeachment case transmitted to the chamber.

"But since we’re here now, and we only have the last three days left—down to the wire—we will go ahead and even file extraordinary motions on the floor if needed, even if, ideally, if the Senate was fulfilling its true duty as stated in the Constitution, this wouldn’t even be necessary," Hontiveros added.

More than 200 House members impeached Duterte on February 5 in connection with her alleged misuse of confidential funds of her offices; her alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez; and her alleged failure to disclose all her properties and assets in her statement of assets and net worth.

After impeaching Duterte, the House immediately transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate just hours before the Senate ended its session on February 5.

Escudero then scheduled the presentation of charges against Duterte on June 2 but later moved it to June 11 to allow the Senate to pass priority legislation before the end of the 19th Congress./mcm

(2025/06/09-11:36)