Senators hold caucus to discuss possible Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Senators are set to hold an all-member caucus on Thursday to discuss the preparations for the possible impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

This came a day after the House Committee on Justice, via unanimous vote, found probable cause to impeach Duterte based on two impeachment complaints filed against her. 

“I will take up possible preparations for the impeachment court if ever [the House of Representatives] transmits,” Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said. 

Sotto has committed that once the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted to the Senate, the upper chamber will act “forthwith.”

This was in reference to Article XI Section 3(4) of the 1987 Constitution, which states that "in case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.” 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, however, said that the term “forthwith” as mentioned in Article 11, Section 3(4) of the 1987 Constitution meant that the Senate should hold an impeachment trial “within a reasonable time,” not necessarily immediately, as a petitioner argued.

The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President accuse her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts: 

• Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential fund and using them as bribes 
• Threatening to kill President Marcos, Jr. and his family, including her desire to remove the head of the Chief Executive, and 
• Alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth. 

The defense team of Duterte on Wednesday said the House committee on justice’s finding of probable cause in the impeachment complaints against the Vice President “was not unexpected” considering the direction of the proceedings. 

Duterte's lawyer on Thursday also insisted that the evidence presented by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during the impeachment hearing was “curated” and was not a foundation for probable cause. 

Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, counsel for the Vice President in the NBI complaint, said the presentation only “reveals the paucity of the charges against her.”

“Evidence is curated, even spliced. Context is ignored. Opinion is substituted for facts. Guesswork is presented as investigation results,” Lim said in a statement. —VAL, GMA News