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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Pimentel moves to immediately convene Senate as impeachment court

Pimentel moves to immediately convene Senate as impeachment court

Published Jun 9, 2025 04:55 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel moved to immediately suspend legislative business and convene the Senate as an impeachment court to begin the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, urging swift adherence to constitutional procedure.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Monday, June 9, formally moved for the Senate to suspend all legislative business and immediately convene as an impeachment court to begin proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a motion made during the plenary session, Pimentel urged the upper chamber to activate its constitutional duty and convene as an impeachment court “at this very moment.”
He also made several other motions to kickstart the process:
  • That Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero immediately take his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court;
  • That the presiding officer thereafter administer the oath or affirmation to all members of the Senate present;
  • That the impeachment court formally call the impeachment case against Vice President Duterte;
  • That at 2:00 p.m on Tuesday, the impeachment court call the impeachment case for the presentation and the reading of the articles of impeachment by the panel of prosecutors of the House of Representatives
  • And that a writ of summons be issued to Vice President Duterte following the reading of the charges.
In a speech, Pimentel said that any further delay not only undermines the explicit mandate of the Constitution and our rules, it risks eroding public trust in the Senate's capacity and capability to uphold the accountability of public officers and the rule of law.
"Not only do many believe that the Senate is heading to a no-trial scenario, worse, many have opined that simply by inaction or by merely refusing to convene as the impeachment court, the Senate seems to believe that it can effectively dismiss or defeat an impeachment complaint duly filed and transmitted by the House of Representatives," he said.
"Under Rule 10 of the Senate's Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, at the hour of the day appointed for the trial of an impeachment, the legislative business of the Senate, if there be any, shall be suspended so that the business of the trial can proceed," he added.
As of writing, the Senate has yet to vote on Pimentel’s motion. The chamber has only three remaining session days before the congressional recess.

Related Tags

koko pimentel Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment court impeachment complaint impeachment trial
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