Impeachment court targets verdict by December 16

Senators consult retired Supreme Court Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno and retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

The Philippine STAR / Ryan Baldemor

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court is eyeing to hand down a final verdict in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte by Dec. 16, running ahead of schedule despite two session cancellations this week.

Court spokesman Reginald Tongol announced yesterday that the impeachment court has advanced anywhere from 20 to 27 days ahead of its initial calendar, drastically shortening a process originally expected to drag on until February or March 2027.

Tongol said House prosecutors could finish presenting their evidence for Article II or ill-gotten wealth and potentially conclude their entire case if they drop Article III or bribery by the end of next week.

“Now, with the way the impeachment trial is going on, our impeachment court’s confidence is stronger that this will be finished before Senate goes on holiday recess,” he said in a virtual press briefing.

“So by Dec. 16 we will have a final verdict,” he added.

The accelerated timeline stems from the prosecution panel’s decision to drop several witnesses from their original list.

For Article II, which tackles the Vice President’s alleged unexplained wealth, prosecutors have used eight of their allocated 12 days and have four days left to present their remaining witnesses, which include representatives from banks, insurance firms, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Tongol said the prosecution might be done with Article II by Thursday or Friday next week if they decide not to add more witnesses or testimonies.

Once the prosecution rests, they will file a formal offer of documentary exhibits before the defense panel opens its 30-day presentation of evidence, he said.

The court expects the defense to streamline its witness lineup in a similar manner.

Tongol also ruled out scheduling make-up hearings after Oct. 15 to compensate for this week’s cancellations, pointing out that the legislative calendar leaves no room for adjustments.

He noted that senators would devote the upcoming legislative recess to budget deliberations alongside the country’s hosting of the ASEAN Summit.

The impeachment trial will take a recess after Oct. 15 and is slated to resume on Nov. 23.

Evidence review

The defense team defended its granted manifestation to postpone the prosecution’s presentation of its AMLC witness who is expected to testify on the P6.7 billion in transactions linked to the bank accounts of Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio.

Defense spokesman Michael Poa maintained that they needed time to review the documents submitted by the AMLC.

“We are also grateful for the understanding of our presiding officer (Sen. Francis Escudero) because of course we only got the summary… because it’s new and we really need to look into that. There are details there that we feel that we need to look into. So, it’s a really big deal… And we do not deny that we were the ones who requested if we could be given time. Not just for cross-examination,” Poa said at a press conference on Thursday.

The impeachment court canceled its whole-day proceedings for Thursday to give the defense enough time to prepare for the testimony of AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura. — Bella Cariaso