Duterte on trial: Senate convenes as an impeachment court
At A Glance
- Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero moved to convene the Senate into an impeachment court following Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa's privilege speech to push for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against her.
The Senate on Tuesday, June 10 has formally convened as an impeachment court.
Senate President Francis “Chiz”
Escudero formally swore in members of the Senate after convening the impeachment court.
Earlier, the Senate leader suspended the plenary session after Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa made a privilege speech to push for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against her.
Escudero ruled that Dela Rosa’s privilege speech and all other motions related to the impeachment complaint be tackled by members of the Senate as senator-judges and as an impeachment court.
The senators donned their impeachment robes except for Senators Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar and Robinhood “Robin” Padilla.
Marcos took her oath but said she made it in ad cautelam or which means “for caution” or “for more abundant caution.”
“I make this oath ad cautelam without prejudice to the resolution of the jurisdictional issue as well as issues pertaining to the validity of the impeachment complaint or to the filing thereof if any,” Marcos said.
Padilla also took participation in the oath-taking but said he is doing it “with reservation.”
Earlier, Escudero scheduled the convening of the impeachment court on Wednesday, June 11 but later on yielded to the motion of Sen. Joel Villanueva to convene the Senate immediately as an impeachment court following Dela Rosa’s privilege speech.
Villanueva also acknowledged the position of the Senate Minority bloc led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Sen. Risa Hontiveros who earlier pushed for the Senate to immediately convene as an impeachment court as part of the Upper Chamber’s constitutional duty.