ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senate impeachment court sets June 18 pre-trial conference for VP Duterte's case

Senate impeachment court sets June 18 pre-trial conference for VP Duterte's case

Published Jun 9, 2026 08:41 pm

At A Glance

  • The Senate impeachment court has scheduled the pre-trial conference in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte for June 18 at the Senate in Pasay City.
  • Parties have been directed to submit their pre-trial briefs by June 15 and discuss key matters during the conference, including evidence, witnesses, stipulations of facts, and trial dates.
  • The pre-trial proceedings will be closed to the media and the public, while parties who fail to submit briefs or attend without valid justification may lose the right to present certain evidence or witnesses.
The Senate impeachment court has scheduled the pre-trial conference for the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte on June 18, 2026, marking the next stage in the proceedings ahead of the trial proper.
Senators, led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, take their oath as the impeachment court convenes at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday, May 18, 2026, for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Duterte is facing impeachment charges over alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and statements against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez. (Mark Balmores)
Senators, led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, take their oath as the impeachment court convenes at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday, May 18, 2026, for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Duterte is facing impeachment charges over alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and statements against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez. (Mark Balmores)
In a notice issued Tuesday, June 9, Presiding Officer and acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian directed the parties to appear at 9 a.m. on June 18 at the Sen. Claro M. Recto Room inside the Senate building in Pasay City.
The pre-trial conference will be conducted before the Secretary of the Senate, who serves as Clerk of the Impeachment Court. The parties will be informed of any additional dates should the pre-trial proceedings continue beyond the scheduled conference.
According to the notice, the parties are required to attend personally or through counsel to discuss and resolve matters including the stipulation of facts, simplification of issues, marking of documentary and real evidence, identification of witnesses, setting of trial dates, and the sequence of presentation of evidence.
The impeachment court also said the conference proceedings will not be open to the media or the public to give the parties and their lawyers the “widest freedom and latitude” in achieving the objectives of pre-trial.
Both sides were ordered to submit their respective pre-trial briefs to the Clerk of the Impeachment Court and serve copies on the opposing party no later than June 15.
The briefs must contain a summary of admitted facts, proposed stipulations and issues for resolution, a list of available documentary and object evidence, and a list of witnesses along with the purpose of their testimonies.
The notice also allows parties to reserve evidence that is not reasonably known or available during the pre-trial conference, provided sufficient notice is given to the opposing party and the impeachment court at least three days before presentation.
For safety and security reasons, the parties may also withhold the identities and details of certain witnesses until they are presented before the impeachment court, although such witnesses must still be included in the total number of witnesses disclosed.
The impeachment court warned that failure to submit a pre-trial brief on time or to attend the conference without a valid legal justification may result in the waiver of the right to present certain evidence or witnesses. It may also lead the court to formulate the pre-trial order based solely on the records available.

Related Tags

Sherwin Gatchalian Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment complaint impeachment court
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.