PASAY CITY, Philippines — Key members of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court have publicly refuted claims made by tribunal spokesperson Atty. Reggie Tongol that a final decision in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings could come as early as December 16.
On Friday, October 2, Tongol suggested that the court was increasingly hopeful of wrapping up proceedings prior to the Senate’s holiday break.
He attributed the faster projection to the House prosecution team expediting its case, alongside signals that both sides might call fewer witnesses than originally scheduled.
”Ngayon po, with the way that the impeachment trial is going on, mas malakas po yung confidence ng ating impeachment court na matatapos to bago mag-holiday recess po ang Senado,” Tongol said.
The tribunal had earlier estimated that trial proceedings might stretch into February or March based on initial schedule requests submitted by both prosecutors and defense counsel. Tongol, however, insisted the court was regaining confidence in hitting its original December target.
Several senator-judges quickly stepped forward to clarify that no such schedule had been agreed upon or formally discussed by the body.
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan clarified on Saturday, October 3, that the December 16 estimate was merely Tongol’s personal assessment and did not reflect an official court consensus.
”I have been asked by the media and the public about the schedule of the trial and the verdict date. The Impeachment Court has yet to formally or informally discuss this and has yet to decide on the timetable/timeline of the trial moreso a verdict date of December 16,” Pangilinan stated in an online post.
”This verdict date is merely the opinion of the spokesperson,” he added.
Pangilinan explicitly rejected the proposed schedule, emphasizing that spokesperson statements must align with official tribunal actions.
”As Senator Judge, I do not share the opinion of the spokesperson. He has no authority to issue his personal opinions on the Court’s behalf,” Pangilinan said.
Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III similarly dismissed the December 16 projection, reiterating that the court has not determined when it will render judgment in the trial against the Vice President.
”He is probably speaking for himself and definitely not for us,” Sotto told reporters.
”The so-called spokesperson should be more circumspect,” Sotto added.
Joining his colleagues, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stated during a Saturday radio interview that setting a concrete date for the verdict is premature, especially since the defense phase of the trial has yet to begin.
”Hindi ko alam saan niya nakuha yung petsa. Kami mismo hindi namin alam,” Lacson said.
”Paano mo ididikta yun hindi pa nga nakakapagpresenta yung defense?” he added.
Lacson noted that the overall timeline will depend heavily on the time required by the defense team to lay out its evidence and call its witnesses.
”Depende yan kung gaano kabilis, gaano katagal magpi-presenta ng kanilang case yung defense. Wala pa tayo dun. Hindi pa nga nagre-rest yung prosecution,” Lacson continued.
”Mahirap hulaan lalo na kung gagawin mong definite yung date kung kailan matatapos. Hindi ko alam kung saan nakuha ng spokesperson yun,” Lacson added.