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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider A swift, lethal impeachment trial? Here's a possible scenario

A swift, lethal impeachment trial? Here's a possible scenario

Published Jun 13, 2026 03:03 pm

At A Glance

  • Rep. Joel Chua says Vice President Sara Duterte can be convicted on just one of the four impeachment articles, allowing the trial to end swiftly if evidence is strong.
  • The House prosecution panel may present fewer articles if convinced that one alone is sufficient, with senators able to vote after its presentation.
  • Sixteen votes from senator-judges are needed to convict, which would remove Duterte from office and bar her from holding public office.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)
Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)


The Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could end up becoming swift and lethal if the House prosecution team gets its way.
Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, speaking on June 13 during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City, reminded the public that Duterte can be convicted based on just one of the four articles of impeachment that the House of Representatives submitted to the Senate.
This means that the House prosecution panel does not necessarily have to present all four articles of impeachment against Vice President if it becomes abundabtly clear during the trial that a single article is already strong enough to secure a conviction.
Vice President Duterte's conviction via impeachment trial is being sought over her offices' alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds; untruthful declarations in the filing of her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth; unexplained wealth; and death threats to President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.
Asked about how long the actual impeachment trial would take, Chua said: “Depende po kasi kung sa tingin po namin, after two, one, two, or three articles, tingin namin, matibay na yung aming ebidensya, hindi na po namin kailangan tapusin ‘yung apat na articles."
(It depends, because if we believe that after one, two, or three articles our evidence is already strong, we will no longer need to finish all four articles.)
“So ang kailangan naman namin ay isang conviction sa article. Hindi po kailangan conviction sa lahat ng articles,” noted the impeachment trial prosecutor.
(What we need is a conviction on one article. A conviction on all articles is not necessary.)
As to how voting among the senator-judges could proceed after the presentation of just a single article, Chua said the prosecution may decide to submit the case for a vote if it believes the evidence presented was already sufficient.
“So, kung puwede po kunwari, naniniwala po kami, pagkatapos po namin ‘yung presentation ng isang article, sa tingin namin matibay na, puwede na po namin i-submit, hindi na po namin ituloy yung tatlo pang articles,” added the lawyer-solon.
(So, for example, if we believe that after presenting one article the evidence is already strong, we can submit it and no longer pursue the remaining three articles.)
“So hindi po namin kailangang patunayan yung apat na articles. Kung sa tingin namin ‘yung unang article pa lamang matibay na ang ebidensiya at na naniniwala kami na doon pa lang ma-co-convict na, puwede po hindi na po namin ituloy at puwede po yung doon lamang ay pagbotohan na ng mga senador,” Chua reiterated.
(So we do not need to prove all four articles. If we believe that the first article alone has solid evidence and we are confident it will lead to conviction, we may stop there and let the senators vote on that alone.)
Sixteen votes from the senator-judges are needed to convict the impeached Duterte.
If and once this happens, Duterte will be removed as vice president and banned from ever holding public office.
Incidentally, she declared her intention to run for the presidency in 2028 just as impeachment complaints were being lodged against her in the House of Representatives. The House received a total of four impeachment raps against Duterte this year.
The actual trial will begin on July 6.

Related Tags

IMPEACHMENT joel chua Sara Duterte impeachment trial Senate Articles of Impeachment
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