Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the chamber could formally sit as an impeachment court as early as May 4, provided the House of Representatives transmits the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte by that date.
“We have to convene as an impeachment court. So technically we may convene by May 4. May 4… If we receive the articles of impeachment then we will immediately convene as an impeachment court,” Sotto told reporters at a press briefing Tuesday, April 21.
He said he would move without delay once the complaint lands in the Senate. “I will act on it with dispatch. Definitely, forthwith. As soon as the Senate receives it, I will inform the Senate and refer it to the committee on rules,” he added.
Sotto estimated that a trial could formally begin within two weeks of transmittal, following the required legal exchanges between the prosecution and defense panels.
His repeated use of “forthwith” appeared to be a deliberate contrast to how his predecessor, then-Senate president Francis Escudero, had handled the constitutional mandate during the 19th Congress. Escudero’s interpretation allowed the Senate to defer action on the earlier impeachment complaint against Duterte, citing timing and workload — a move that drew criticism for softening the requirement for immediate action.
Sotto also called on senators to preserve strict neutrality as political tensions over the case continue to build.
Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong, for his part, welcomed Sotto’s statements as an indication of the case’s seriousness. “It suggests that many senators are already seeing that a substantial case is taking shape — one that could justify the House transmitting the articles of impeachment,” he said.
The timeline remains contingent on the House, which has yet to formally transmit the articles.
