Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial commences

MANILA, Philippines — The first day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial began on Monday, exactly 11 months since the Senate archived her first impeachment case.

This time around, the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, has set the stage for a trial proper, dedicating 92 trial days in total to tackle the four Articles of Impeachment against Duterte.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian will preside over the proceedings.

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The accusations in each article are as follows:

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Article I: Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) combined

Article II: Alleged unexplained wealth, failure to truthfully disclose assets in Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, or SALNs, from 2022 to 2024, and failure to divest and willful continued business interests

Article III: Alleged bribery and procurement irregularities involving DepEd officials

Article IV: Alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez

READ: Impeachment court summons Sara Duterte to first day of her trial

According to Clerk of Court Renato Bantug, the members of Duterte’s defense team and the House prosecution panel will formally enter their appearances and deliver their opening statements.

Then, if time allows, pending matters raised during and after the five-day-long pretrial, will be resolved.

While no parties have divulged the exact disputes to be raised on the first trial day, during the pretrial, the opening and marking of Duterte’s tax records held in a Bureau of Internal Revenue “green box” was requested, but left unresolved.

The question of the two-thirds vote to convict or acquit the vice president in the absence of some senators was also raised, but Gatchalian asserted that the provisions of the Constitution must be upheld. /apl /mr

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