Senate Impeachment court likely to reconvene on Aug 4, says Villanueva
By Dhel Nazario
At A Glance
- Senator Joel Villanueva said on Wednesday, July 16, that the Senate impeachment court would likely reconvene a week after opening the first regular session of the 20th Congress.
Senator Joel Villanueva said on Wednesday, July 16, that the Senate impeachment court would likely reconvene a week after opening the first regular session of the 20th Congress.
MB file photo
"It looks like we are just going to wait for one week to organize ourselves as a Senate, yung mga committees, etc., leadership, at ang (the) House, ganun din po (will do the same)," he said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
"Then the week after, we can convene the impeachment court and have the defense and the prosecution present their cases...so you're looking at the week after, Aug. 4," he added.
Villaneuva said these activities were in addition to the swearing in of the new set of senator-judges.
However, he clarified that there's still no definite decision as to whether or not they would convene.
"But it's look like maganda yung pag-uusap and most of the senators if not all, I talked to, parang agree din sila dun sa proposal na iyon (they agree to that proposal) and the Senate President has been asking the senator-judges about this particular move," he added.
Meanwhile, Senate impeachment court spokesperson, lawyer Regie Tongol said that the Senate, through its Office of the Legal Counsel, filed a Manifestation Ad Cautelam before the Supreme Court (SC) in response to its En Banc Resolution dated July 8, 2025.
"The Senate has respectfully informed the Court that it currently lacks sufficient knowledge or access to the specific information requested under items (a) to (k) of the Resolution," he said.
"Much of the data sought — particularly those under items (a) to (e) — pertain to proceedings and decisions within the House of Representatives and were manifested by the Senate as the same information, asked from the House to provide by the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court through its Order dated June 11, 2025," he added.
Tongol said that the filing reflects the Senate’s commitment to cooperation and respect for judicial processes, while also observing the proper institutional roles set by our Constitution.
He added that the Senate's filing of a Manifestation Ad Cautelam underscores the constitutional boundaries of each branch and the limits of what information the Senate can provide.