Newly-elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano assured on Tuesday, May 12 that the Senate, under his leadership, will act on the Articles of Impeachment “forthwith” and without unnecessary delay.

Cayetano said the institution will fully comply with its constitutional duties while ensuring proper legal processes are followed.

“There won’t be delays…We will do what has to be done. Judge us by our actions,” Cayetano told reporters in an interview. 

Asked directly if the Senate would immediately convene upon receipt of the Articles of Impeachment, Cayetano responded unequivocally: “Forthwith.”

He said the Senate leadership is already consulting members and former Senate officials on the proper procedural steps to ensure that the process is conducted with transparency, fairness, and institutional integrity.

Cayetano also said he consulted former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

“I also consulted former Senate President Tito Sotto. The guidance was to follow the process and refer the matter appropriately through the Committee on Rules. We will follow the law and the rules of the Senate,” he said.

But while the impeachment process is a constitutional accountability mechanism that deserves full attention, Cayetano said the Senate must also continue addressing urgent national concerns, particularly economic issues affecting ordinary Filipinos.

“We cannot focus only on impeachment because there are many pressing economic challenges facing the country,” he said. 

“But this is an important accountability process, and we will give it the full attention it deserves,” he stressed.

The Senate President also vowed to convene an all-member caucus to ensure that major decisions are discussed thoroughly and transparently among senators. 

“This will not be the decision of only one committee or one person,” he said.

“We are lawmakers, not lawbreakers…The Philippines is a nation of laws, not of men,” he pointed out.