Senate impeachment court summons VP Sara Duterte for July 6 trial | The Manila Times

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Today is July 3rd

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The Senate Impeachment Court has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte to appear before the impeachment tribunal on Monday. Monday is the start of Duterte’s impeachment trial. The directive was signed by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian. It required Duterte to either personally appear before the Senate Impeachment Court or be represented by legal counsel. The House of Representatives has forwarded the four articles of impeachment. If convicted on at least one article of impeachment, Duterte will be removed from the Office of the Vice President. The Senate may also permanently disqualify Duterte from holding any public office in the future. Impeachment proceedings, however, do not impose criminal penalties.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano says the Supreme Court needs to resolve the dispute over what constitutes a “majority of all members” of the Senate. Unless the High Court comes up with a decision, Cayetano says the fairness of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial could be compromised. Under the 1987 Constitution, conviction in an impeachment trial requires the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all members of the Senate, or sixteen votes. However, there is a possible reduction in the current number of senators who can participate in the impeachment trial. Senator Bato dela Rosa is in hiding following the release of an arrest warrant against him. Senator Jinggoy Estrada was arrested and is under detention in connection with a plunder case. A non-bailable plunder case was also filed against Senator Rodante Marcoleta. All of these senators are aligned with the minority bloc.

The PNP will coordinate with the Senate leadership once the arrest warrant against Senator Rodante Marcoleta is released. This was stated by PNP spokesman Allan Rae Co. The Office of the Ombudsman earlier filed plunder charges against Marcoleta over his acceptance of a P75-million campaign donation.