President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed his full support for Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as the presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, set to begin on July 6.
Speaking to reporters in Kazan, Russia before returning to Manila, Marcos dismissed any concerns about Escudero’s capability, noting that the senator had previously presided over an impeachment trial in 2025 and had authored the rules currently adopted by the Senate.
“As a matter of fact, the rules that were adopted by the Senate were the rules that Senator Chiz wrote during last year's impeachment, when they were handling the last year's impeachment complaint,” Marcos said.
“So, in terms of his ability to be able to run the trial, I don't think that's in doubt,” he added.
Senator Panfilo Lacson confirmed Wednesday that members of the new Senate majority bloc had reached an initial consensus to elect Escudero as the presiding officer. The formal election will take place when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court on July 6.
Escudero, a lawyer, previously presided over the Senate impeachment court in 2025 when he was Senate President, overseeing the impeachment trial of Duterte. However, his earlier role drew criticism from some quarters.
Marcos dismissed those concerns, pointing out that the previous impeachment proceedings were halted due to a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that declared the initial complaint against the Vice President unconstitutional.
“Those are opinions. I don't think that reflects in any way on how he will do. If you remember, the reason that the impeachment trial last year came to a stop was because of the Supreme Court decision. And that had nothing to do with Senator Chiz,” he said.
