Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has asked the Supreme Court to halt her impeachment trial at the Senate, citing a constitutional challenge to Senator Francis Joseph “Chiz” G. Escudero's authority to preside over the impeachment court.
In an urgent motion filed on July 6, she requested the high court to maintain the status quo and prevent the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, from proceeding with the trial, receiving evidence, ruling on objections, or issuing further orders until the constitutional issue is resolved.
The Vice-President argued that a respondent in an impeachment case is entitled to a trial before the constitutionally proper impeachment tribunal, presided over by an officer whose authority is lawfully derived.
She and her lawyers cited Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano's objection that the Constitution contemplates only the Senate president presiding over impeachment trials, except when the President is the respondent, in which case the Chief Justice presides.
The motion also argued that Mr. Escudero's authority remains under challenge in a separate petition before the SC questioning the June 3 amendment to the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials.
The Vice-President claimed the amendment was adopted without a quorum, without the one-day advance notice required under Senate rules, and by the Senate acting in its legislative capacity rather than as an impeachment court.
Her lawyers warned that allowing the trial to proceed before the constitutional issue is settled risks invalidating subsequent proceedings should the June 3 amendment later be struck down.
The petitioners also asked the tribunal to consolidate the latest motion with the pending petitions challenging the June 3 Senate proceedings, arguing that the issue has become prejudicial to the impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, the Senate impeachment court allowed prosecutors to present excerpts from the Vice-President's 2024 online briefings containing her threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., rejecting the defense's request to play the entire two-hour video.
The House prosecution panel presented National Bureau of Investigation Senior Agent John Mark Sta. Ana Calilung as its first witness for Article IV of the impeachment complaint, which accuses the Vice-President of grave threats against the President, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
Prosecutors presented evidence, including video clips, that showed the Vice-President making threats against the President and others, including a statement that she had instructed someone to kill the President, the First Lady, and former Speaker Romualdez if she were assassinated.
The Vice-President skipped the second day of the trial despite appearing at the Senate, citing official engagements, and was represented by her defense team.
Analysts said the Vice-President's decision to skip the trial, despite appearing at the Senate, might be legally permissible but could undermine her political standing.
They suggested that the Vice-President's actions could be seen as an attempt to shape public perception rather than strengthen her legal defense.
