Senator Imee Marcos has pushed back against the estimated seven-month timeline for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, arguing that the high-stakes proceedings must be expedited.
”Grabe ang tagal naman! That is way too long,” she said in a message to reporters.
The lengthy timeline was detailed by Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr., who explained that the schedule accounts for the prosecution’s request of 62 trial days to layout its case, alongside the defense’s estimated 30 trial days.
Marcos warned that allowing the trial to stretch over 92 days would severely hinder the Senate’s primary legislative duties.
To resolve this, she suggested strictly enforcing the One-Day Examination of Witness Rule to drastically trim down the schedule.
”We should follow the One-Day Examination of Witness Rule as much as possible to cut the number of trial days,” she said.
”I don’t think the parties will be presenting 90 plus witnesses, so if we follow said rule, then we will need far less than 90 trial days,” she added.
If the trial spans the projected 92 days, it will go down as the longest impeachment trial in Philippine history.
The current schedule slates trial sessions from Monday to Wednesday at 2 p.m. until the week before the State of the Nation Address (SONA), keeping Thursdays open for motions.
Following the SONA, the trial schedule will permanently transition to a Tuesday-through-Thursday format.