Gatchalian: Consensus reached on new impeach trial sked to hasten proceedings

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday said that senator-judges have reached a consensus as to whether the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will be reverted in the afternoon to hasten the proceedings.

“Although may consensus na, but within the week gagawin ‘yan,” Gatchalian said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(Although there is already a consensus, but it will be done within the week.)

To recall, it was Senator-Judge Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri who manifested to move the impeachment trial back in the afternoon to enable the prosecution and defense teams more time to present their arguments.

He suggested that the legislative session at the Senate be conducted at 10 a.m. instead, considering that it may be held only for a few hours. After the session, Zubiri said the trial may begin at 3 p.m., “so that we are not hampered by our legislative calendar.”

Gatchalian had said he is open to moving the schedule of the trial as the Senate prepares to begin hearings on the proposed 2027 national budget.

“Isa sa mga pinag-uusapan namin ay pagbaliktarin ‘yung oras. Dahil on the average, ang impeachment kumukuha ng 6 to 7 hours. Actually, napakahaba. At dahil nga sa umaga siya, limitado siya dahil may session kami ng 3 o’clock,” the Senate President said.

(One of the things we are discussing is swapping the schedule. Because, on average, the impeachment proceedings take six to seven hours. This is actually a very long time. And since it’s held in the morning, we are constrained because we have a session at 3:00 p.m.)

“So isa sa mga pinag-aaralan, ipagpalit para ibalik ulit natin [sa hapon] para mas mahaba siya. One to sawa,” he added.

(So, one of the options being studied is to switch it back to the afternoon so there is more time, and so we can conduct the trial as long as necessary.)

Burnout

Gatchalian, however, admitted that longer working hours may cause burnout for senators and their staff.

“Mabu-burn out talaga. Tao lang naman rin ang mga senators natin, lalo na ang mga staff... Mabu-burn out talaga. Pero gusto na rin matapos itong impeachment kaagad, eh,” he said.

(Burnout is inevitable. Our senators and their staff are only human, after all. But we want this impeachment trial to finish as soon as possible.)

“At gusto rin natin na kumbaga bumalik na sa normal legislative function ang Senado. So, sang-ayon naman ang ating mga senador na maghanap tayo ng paraan para humaba-haba ‘yung trial kada araw.

(We also want the Senate to return to its normal legislative functions. So, our senators agree that we should find a way to extend the daily trial sessions.)

December or next year?

Gatchalian said the Senate impeachment court is targeting to finish the trial by December, but it may still extend until next year due to the pacing of the proceedings and the work suspensions due to the inclement weather.

“‘Pag ganito ang takbo, parang nakikita ko ay next year, pwede pang tumawid ito. Pero ang target namin hopefully, by December. So kaya nga mag-aadjust na lang ang senado sa oras para ‘yung target na one witness, one day ay magawa natin,” he explained.

(If this continues, it looks like it might extend to next year. However, our target is hopefully to finish this by December. That is why the Senate will adjust its schedule so we can achieve the ‘one witness, one day’ target.)

Impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol on Wednesday said the impeachment trial is already slightly delayed due to the cancellations in the past several days. —VAL, GMA News