The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is expected to commence the formal trial proper of Vice President Sara Duterte by June, capitalizing on the upcoming legislative break, according to Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon.
“Around mga June ang aming expected timeframe for the trial proper,” Ridon stated during a television interview.
”Our expected timeframe for the trial proper is around June.”
Ridon, an elected member of the House prosecution panel, explained that the Senate will reconvene as a tribunal once the Vice President submits her formal response to the writ of summons. This development follows the upper chamber’s official action on Monday, where it served the summons to Duterte—giving her a strict 10-day window to answer the allegations and ordering her to appear before the court upon notice.
An ‘Unprecedented’ Fast-Tracked Development
Describing the Senate’s swift activation and the immediate serving of the summons, Ridon noted that the pacing of the current tribunal marks a historic shift in handling accountability at the second-highest office in the land.
“This never happened before in the last impeachment proceedings against the Vice President kaya nagpapasalamat talaga kami sa Senado that they had, in fact, convened yesterday,” he said.
”This never happened before in the last impeachment proceedings against the Vice President, which is why we are truly grateful to the Senate that they had, in fact, convened yesterday.”
Ridon further lauded the upper chamber’s swift compliance with standard statutory urgencies, adding: “They delivered on the commitment to convene the Senate impeachment court forthwith or in Filipino, agad-agad.”
Prosecution Targets ‘Unexplained Wealth’ and Alleged Threats
Even before the House prosecution team was fully structured, the 11-member panel had already mobilized its legal strategies to avoid procedural delays.
“As early as the elections of the prosecutors, naghahanda na. May mga pagpupulong halos araw-araw na. Naghatian na ng mga grounds yung prosecution,” Ridon revealed.
”As early as the election of the prosecutors, preparations were already underway. Meetings are being held almost every day. The prosecution has already divided the grounds among themselves.”
According to the lawmaker, the article involving Duterte’s supposed unexplained wealth is anticipated to be the most rigorous segment of the trial, demanding a massive logistical footprint of documentation and testimonies.
“Pinakamabigat talaga in terms of volume and witnesses, yung unexplained wealth kaya marami nakatakdang prosecutor sa bagay na yan,” he added.
”The heaviest in terms of volume and witnesses is really the unexplained wealth, which is why many prosecutors have been assigned to that matter.”
While the prosecution panel has yet to finalize its exact sequence of presentation, Ridon confirmed that the trial strategy will anchor heavily on two main focal points: the alleged unexplained wealth, and the controversial high-profile threats made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.