Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said the Senate will conduct a pre-trial should the House of Representatives transmit the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, drawing from lessons learned during past proceedings.
In a radio interview on Monday, May 4, Sotto emphasized that once the articles are received and initial procedural steps are completed, the Senate should move to pre-trial before proceeding to the trial proper.
“Dapat mag-pre-trial,” Sotto said, noting that the step is necessary to streamline proceedings and avoid confusion during the presentation of evidence and witnesses.
He cited the Senate’s experience in the Corona impeachment case, when the trial began without a pre-trial phase. According to him, this led to disorganized presentations, prompting then-presiding officer, the late former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, to call for a pre-trial in the middle of the proceedings.
“Pagdating ng February, nagkakagulo sa mga presentasyon kasi walang pre-trial,” Sotto recalled. “Hindi puwedeng nagbibiglaan, nagsusurprise,” he added.
Under the proposed approach, the pre-trial will cover the marking of evidence, identification of witnesses, and stipulation of facts to help expedite the trial and improve case management.
Sotto said this process is consistent with the Senate’s rules, which adopt the Rules of Court in a suppletory manner.
As for the timeline, he explained that the pre-trial could begin after the exchange of pleadings between the prosecution and the impeached official, including 10 days for the respondent to answer and five days for the prosecution’s reply.
If proceedings move without delay, Sotto estimates that the trial proper could begin by mid-June, or at the latest, by the last week of June.
