Senate minority to push for VP Sara Duterte's impeachment trial's opening rites
Senator Risa Hontiveros announced Monday that the Senate's minority bloc will formally move during the plenary session this afternoon to start the opening rites in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
At a press conference, Hontiveros said that she and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel III will move to allow Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero to take his oath as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, and to administer the prescribed oath to all members of the Senate as judges of the impeachment court.
She said the minority bloc will also move for the Senate to convene as an impeachment court, and for the Articles of Impeachment to be formally presented to the body.
'Wala pa tayo sa trial proper. Opening rites pa lamang. Panunumpa at pormalidad. Hindi ito aabutin ng isang oras. So let's not pretend an hour is too much to ask,' Hontiveros said.
(We are not yet in the trial proper. It's only the opening rites, just oath and formality. This will not take an hour. So let's not pretend an hour is too much to ask.)
'We have three full days of session left, which can last up to near midnight as they have in recent days. We may only have three days, but three days is not nothing,' she added.
Hontiveros further stressed that the minority will not allow the Senate to ignore the 1987 Constitution with regard to the conduct of the impeachment trial, citing calls from law schools and universities, religious groups, and framers of the 1987 Constitution.
'The Senate must not be heedless and callous to the growing calls for the institution to fulfill its mandate and begin the impeachment trial,' she said.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint.
On the same day, the Articles of Impeachment were transmitted to the Senate but the upper chamber adjourned without addressing the case.
The reading of impeachment raps against Duterte was rescheduled on June 11, as the Senate seeks to prioritize the passage of the items in the administration's legislative agenda before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 14.
Duterte was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. She has denied the allegations. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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