New sked for Sara Duterte impeachment trial mulled

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday discussed the possible adjusted schedule of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

On the 21st day of the impeachment trial, Escudero informed the counsels in advance the draft trial dates for October and November, given that the Senate has to begin deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget.

He emphasized that the following schedule is still subject to confirmation and finality by next week.

On October 1 and 2; October 5 to 9; and October 12 to 15, trial will be for the entire day, from 10 a.m. up until early evening. There will be no sessions on these days.

Next, the trial will be temporarily suspended "to give way to the committee hearings of the Committee on Finance, which is also part of the break."

Specifically, there will be no trial schedule from October 16 until November 8.

"[The budget] is the single most important piece of legislation that the Senate, sitting as a legislative body, should enact and pass every given year, under the helm of our chairman of the committee on finance, Senator JV Ejercito," Escudero, a former Senate president, explained.

He said the trial will resume on November 9 and 16, both Mondays. The schedule for these dates will be 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"We shall proceed to normal programming on November 23 until we finish the case," the presiding officer added.

In a press conference, impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said adjusting the trial schedule was the “call of many senator-judges” to hasten the proceedings and reach the target of the court to finish the trial before the year ends.

"'Yun ay isa sa mga kinunsidera ng ating senator-judges and also 'yung schedule ng legislative agenda ng Senado. Na kung paano nila ifi-fit in 'yung parehong duties ng Senate sa maikling panahon na 'yun given na mayroon na expectation na matapos sana 'yung trial sinabi ni president officer by December. So it is part of the court's participation in trying to expedite the matter," Tongol explained.

(That is one of the things that our senator-judges considered, as well as the schedule of the Senate's legislative agenda. How can they fit in both duties of the Senate in such a short period of time given that there is an expectation that the trial will be over by December? So it is part of the court's participation in trying to expedite the matter.)

— VDV, GMA News