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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider New Senate majority bloc to designate Escudero as presiding officer in VP Sara's impeachment trial

New Senate majority bloc to designate Escudero as presiding officer in VP Sara's impeachment trial

Published Jun 17, 2026 02:29 pm

At A Glance

  • Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero's designation as impeachment court presiding officer will be made official when the court convenes on July 6, 2026.
Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero sitting as presiding officer of the impeachment court. (Mark Balmores/Manila Bulletin)
Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero sitting as presiding officer of the impeachment court. (Mark Balmores/Manila Bulletin)

The new Senate majority bloc has agreed to designate Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to be the presiding officer in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, in an interview, said Escudero’s designation as impeachment court presiding officer will be made official when the court convenes on July 6, 2026. 

“As of our consensus this morning, we will elect Sen. Escudero if we convene again as impeachment court to be presiding officer,” Lacson said told reporters in an interview. 

“Not only because he is a lawyer, but he also has experience in handling impeachment proceedings,” he said. 

“So that’s the consensus as of this morning, though it may still change. It was also suggested by Sen. Win (Sherwin Gatchalian),” he said of the new Senate President. 

He also rejected speculations the move was done in exchange for Escudero’s decision to join the new Senate majority.

“No, we discussed it among ourselves just to keep things smooth,” Lacson said. 

Escudero used to be the Senate president and acted as the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court also for the trial of the Vice President.

He was afterwards ousted and replaced by Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who was eventually replaced in a sudden leadership revamp instigated by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. 

Escudero then chose to be aligned with the Cayetano bloc, until he attended the June 3 Senate session that led to another leadership shake up and the designation of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate President and election as Senate President Pro Tempore. 

During the Special Session called for by Malacañang on Wednesday, June 17, Escudero again attended and signed the resolution that officially designates Gatchalian as the Senate leader. 

Related Tags

Chiz Escudero impeachment court Ping Lacson Sara Duterte impeachment
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