Cayetano’s turn to vow Sara trial will start ‘forthwith’
Here comes that word again.
Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano assured the public on Tuesday that the chamber would convene as an impeachment court “forthwith” and without unnecessary delay once the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte are transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate.
Cayetano stressed that the Senate “will fully comply with its constitutional duties while ensuring proper legal process.”
“Forthwith,” he replied when asked if the Senate would immediately convene upon receipt of the articles of impeachment.
“We will do what has to be done and there won’t be delays. There’s no reason (to delay). You judge us by our actions,” he told reporters in an interview on Tuesday.
On Monday, an overwhelming majority of 257 lawmakers at the House of Representatives voted to impeach Duterte on charges of corruption and constitutional violations. Twenty-five lawmakers opposed while nine abstained.
As the House started the plenary session for the vote, Cayetano was installed as Senate President after gathered the support of 13 senators, most of them supporters of the Duterte family, to oust Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
Mark Llandro Mendoza, the Senate secretary, on Tuesday said the upper chamber had yet to receive the articles of impeachment from the House.
Last month, the Supreme Court clarified that “forthwith proceed” in an impeachment trial does not necessarily mean the Senate should act at breakneck speed, but rather within a “reasonable time.”
The high tribunal said the word “forthwith” was not synonymous with “immediate.”
It explained that the constitutional provision using the word “forthwith” means “within a reasonable time, which may be longer or shorter, depending on the circumstances of each case,” to allow the Senate to make the necessary preparations to convene as an impeachment court.
Consultation
It also reminded the Senate that it must “avoid undue delay to uphold the principle that public officers must at all times be accountable to the people.”
Cayetano said the Senate leadership was already consulting members and former Senate officials on the proper procedures to that would ensure “transparency, fairness, and institutional integrity.”
“I also consulted [with] former Senate President Tito Sotto. The guidance was to follow the process and refer the matter appropriately through the committee on rules. We will follow the law and the rules of the Senate,” he said.
The new Senate leader stressed that while the impeachment process is a constitutional accountability mechanism that deserves full attention, the Senate must also continue addressing urgent national concerns, particularly economic issues affecting ordinary Filipinos.
“The country needs us in other capacities… We cannot focus only on impeachment because there are many pressing economic challenges facing the country,” he said. “But this is an important accountability process, and we will give it the full attention it deserves.”
Cayetano also underscored the importance of collective institutional decision-making, saying he intends to convene an all-member caucus to ensure that major decisions are discussed thoroughly and transparently.
“This will not be the decision of only one committee or one person,” he said.
Cayetano reiterated his broader principle that the Senate, as an institution, must always operate within the rule of law.
“We are lawmakers, not lawbreakers,” he said. “The Philippines is a nation of laws, not of men.”
He stressed that “due process, adherence to legal remedies, and respect for constitutional procedures remain essential principles that must guide all actions of government institutions.”
Prosecution team named
Meanwhile, the House on Tuesday elected the 11 lawmakers who will make up the prosecution team for the impeachment trial.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, who chairs of the committee on justice that deliberated on the impeachment complaints, was selected to head the team.
The members are Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor, Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, 1-Rider party list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, Mamamayang Liberal party list Rep. Leila de Lima, Akbayan party list Rep. Chel Diokno and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan.
Luistro, Defensor, Chua, Flores, Zamora, and Gutierrez are holdovers from the original panel formed after Duterte was impeached by the House for the first time in Feb. 5, 2025.
Ridon, De Lima, Diokno, Bag-ao and Suan are new additions to the team.
Expecting fairness
According to Malacañang, President Marcos expects the new Senate leadership to conduct a fair impeachment trial.
“The House of Representatives made its decision and likely saw the evidence. In fact, they said that even more lawmakers agreed to impeach the Vice President the second time around, and this was probably based on the documents or evidence they saw that could serve as grounds for impeachment,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said.
“And hopefully, once this reaches the Senate, our senators who will act as judges will remain fair, because this is ultimately for the best interest of the Filipino people,” she added.
According to Castro, the President has always maintained that all officials involved in any instance of wrongdoing in the government, including the flood control scandal, must be held liable.
“So, the impeachment trial cannot be an exception. If there are those who need to be held responsible, then they must be made accountable,” she said.
Heed calls
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the Senate should heed the call of law school deans to proceed with the impeachment trial of Duterte.
“Not only is this a powerful statement coming from powerful legal minds of the country which the Senate should take seriously, but more importantly, it is what the Constitution unequivocally provides,” he said in a statement.
Lacson was referring to the statement of law deans and professors from leading Philippine law schools that with the Senate refusing to convene as an impeachment court may expose senators to administrative and criminal liability.
The law deans and professors reminded the Senate that refusing to sit as a Court of Impeachment is not a constitutional option once the House of Representatives transmits to it the articles of impeachment.
They added that the refusal of public officers to perform a duty imposed by law, particularly by the Constitution, “constitutes dereliction of duty that is administratively actionable and conferring an undue advantage and benefit on a person not entitled to it is an indictable criminal offense under Republic Act No. 3019.” —WITH A REPORT FROM DEXTER CABALZA AND GABRIEL PABICO LALU
