The opening of the historic impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte featured a sharp legal debate as Senate leadership and lawmakers clashed over who has the constitutional right to preside over the impeachment court.
Cayetano Challenges New Rules
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, before the start of the trial, raised concerns over the Senate’s recent move to vote for a different presiding officer for the impeachment court, warning that bending the rules could compromise the entire proceeding. Cayetano argued that the change is constitutionally infirm and cautioned his colleagues that moving forward under these adjusted parameters threatens the legal foundation of the trial itself.
"Why don't we follow the Constitution? Amending the rules implementing a null and void rule and violating the Constitution will endanger this hearing, Mr. president," he stressed.
Background on the Rule Change
Historically, the Senate President automatically presides over impeachment trials, except when the President is on trial. However, a newly published amendment, Senate Resolution No. 48, now allows the chamber to elect an alternative presiding officer by a simple majority vote. Senate President Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian clarified that the impeachment court fully recognizes the rule amendments adopted on June 3, 2026. He maintained that any formal challenges must be settled by the full Senate membership in the plenary.
"If there are any discussions, it should be done in plenary because it is where we adopted the rules of the impeachment and where we amended the rules," he said.
Pangilinan Defends the Process
Defending the legality of the setup, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan pushed back against Cayetano’s claims that the process is unconstitutional, arguing that the charter gives Congress full authority to dictate its own procedures.
"The Constitution does not provide that the Senate President should be the one to preside... Nowhere in the provisions of the Constitution on public accountability and impeachment [does it state] that the Senate President must preside when the Vice President is on trial," Pangilinan argued.
Pangilinan added that the amendments allowing the election of an alternative presiding officer were unanimously ratified during a special session on June 17, rendering the rules completely regular and making any further point of order on the matter out of bounds.
Escudero Elected as Presiding Officer
The Senate leadership later settled the issue by electing Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as the impeachment court presiding officer. It was Senator Panfilo Lacson who moved to elect Escudero as the presiding officer. Twelve senator-judges voted yes, and eight voted against his election.
