House inspects Senate premises in preparation for impeachment trial

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco led an ocular inspection in the Senate on Tuesday, March 18, to inspect facilities that will be used by House prosecutors for Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial in July.

"We are really here to see the facilities that will be occupied by the House prosecutors and the Secretariat," he said in an interview.

A few weeks ago Velasco sent a letter to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero requesting that a room for the House Prosecution Panel and Secretariat Support Group be provided for them for Duterte's upcoming impeachment trial.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez also sent a letter to Escudero saying that the House of Representatives is vouching that the “proceedings will be conducted with fairness, impartiality and strict adherence to the provisions of the Constitution.”

Velasco said they were very happy with the setup in the Senate's session hall, which, according to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., is the same one they used during the impeachment trial of the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Regarding additional specifications or rooms, Velasco said that they will have another meeting with the Senate for that. For now, what they did was to inspect what the Upper Chamber would be offering to them.

"We might have additional requirements for other staff or other people who will be important during the trial," he said.

According to the Senate, the session hall, which spans 840 square meters, includes 340 seats in galleries plus 30 more seats in the VIP box. Initially, Velasco said that they asked for two basic rooms for the 11 prosecutors, and the Secretariat support group.

As per the instruction of Escudero, Bantug said that they must leave enough committee rooms for hearings.

When Congress resumes on June 2, the Senate will start convening as an impeachment court. Senators will sit as senator-judges.

Escudero has tentatively set the start of the impeachment trial on July 30.