The Philippine Senate began the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 6, 2026, with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero as the presiding officer.
According to the pre-trial order from June 29, 2026, sessions are set for 2:00 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from July 6 to 27. After that, hearings shift to 3:00 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The Senate has allocated 92 trial days for the proceedings.
Prosecutors intend to call 57 witnesses, and the defense has listed 45.
Hearings will use both Filipino and English, and the public may attend the trial.
A Trial Amid Senate Turmoil
The impeachment trial followed weeks of Senate infighting and leadership changes.
The House of Representatives sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate on May 13, 2026, just two days after a surprise coup that installed Alan Peter Cayetano, a Duterte ally, as president. His leadership fell apart after his ally, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, was arrested without bail on plunder charges. With Cayetano’s group weakened, opposing senators soon took control of the chamber.
Senators Francis Escudero and Joel Villanueva, previously aligned with Cayetano, later joined the opposition bloc that elected Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian as Senate president on June 17, 2026.
Gatchalian has served as senator since 2016 and is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).
Charges Against Duterte
Sara Duterte faces four main impeachment complaints:
- Alleged misuse of 612.5 million Pesos (about 8.7 million Euro) in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education;
- Alleged unexplained wealth and failure to disclose statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth from 2022 to 2024, including continued business interests;
- Alleged bribery and procurement irregularities in the Department of Education; and,
- Alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the First Lady, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as inciting sedition against the government.
The Senate’s Pre-Trial Order states that prosecutors will open with the assassination plot charges, then move to the alleged misuse of funds, bribery, and unexplained wealth.
Duterte did not attend the impeachment proceedings in person so far. Her 16-member defense team, led by attorney Sheila Sison, represented her in the proceedings. Duterte’s defense called the case politically motivated.
Sison emphasized that Duterte is a vice president elected by more than 32 million Filipin@s and invoked the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling that voided the first impeachment case for grave abuse of discretion.
Also on July 6, 2026, lawyers allied with Vice President Sara Duterte petitioned the Supreme Court to stop her impeachment trial, citing constitutional issues in the Senate’s leadership. They questioned Senator Francis Chiz Escudero’s authority as presiding officer of the impeachment court, urging a restraining order.
Senators Alan and Pia Cayetano also disputed Escudero’s selection as presiding officer.
Escudero declared that a conviction requires at least 16 affirmative votes, regardless of absences, dismissing speculation that the threshold could be lowered due to detained or absent Duterte allies.
Three senators – Rodante Marcoleta (arrested on plunder charges), Jinggoy Estrada (detained and suspended), and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa (in hiding from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant) – are presumed unable to participate. The prosecution had hoped their absence would lower the threshold to 14 or 15 votes, but Escudero dismissed this possibility.
On July 14, 2026, after four days of proceedings, Duterte released a written statement claiming the prosecution had not presented credible evidence of the alleged threats she is accused of making against President Marcos Jr., his wife, and his cousin in November 2024.
Political Science Professor from the University of the Philippines Jean Franco stressed that the trial is a test of Philippines’ democracy. So far only two Filipino officials have faced an impeachment trial: former President Joseph Estrada and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. However, only Corona was convicted in 2012 for failing to declare assets worth 2.4 million Dollar (about 2.1 million Euro) in foreign currency accounts.
Duterte has high popularity ratings among voters. However, if convicted, she could be removed from office and perpetually barred from holding public office.
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