Duterte impeachment trial may take place after SONA in July - Escudero

Metro Manila, Philippines – The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will likely be handled by the 20th Congress in July, Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero said on Monday, Feb. 10.

In a press briefing, Escudero said the trial may take place "after SONA (State of the Nation Address), SONA is on July 21.”

He said the Senate is not rushing the impeachment trial.

"Bakit ko iibahin ang pagtrato sa impeachment na ito? Hindi ito special, hindi ito kakaiba. Ang tingin namin dapat dito ordinaryong impeachment complaint," said Escudero.

[Translation: Why would I treat this impeachment differently? This is not special, it is not unusual. We see this as an ordinary impeachment complaint.]

Escudero also responded to statements made by some members of the House of Representatives urging the Senate to act on the impeachment immediately.

"Bakit nila inuupuan ng dalawang buwan ito, dalawang buwang nakabinbin ang tatlong impeachment complaint sa Kongreso. Ang kailangan lamang na gawin ay ipadala sa Speaker para ma-agenda ng Speaker iyan, pero hindi ginawa sa loob ng dalawang buwan. Tapos kami gusto sa loob ng dalawang oras magawa 'yun," he added.

[Translation: Why did they sit on this for two months? The three impeachment complaints were pending in the House of Representatives for two months. All they had to do was send it to the Speaker so it could be put on the agenda, but that was not done in two months. And now they want us to act on it in two hours?]

The senator said they have yet to approve the rules of impeachment in June.

"Ang unang gagawin pagkatapos ng rules, papadalhan ng summons ang nasasakdal, tapos may sampung araw para sumagot kung hindi siya hihingi ng extension. Pag humingi ng extension, pagbibigyan naman iyon," he said.

[Translation: The first step after setting the rules is to send a summons to the respondent. They will then have ten days to respond unless they request an extension, which is usually granted]

The prosecutors will then be allowed to reply and file a rejoinder. This will pave the way for the pre-trial.

"Ang dami pang gagawin bago ang actual impeachment court," he added.

[Translation There are still many steps to go through before the actual impeachment court.]