Gatchalian disputes P25M daily cost of Sara Duterte impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday disputed the claim that the Senate is spending P25 million daily in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the amount represented the operating costs of the entire chamber.

According to Gatchalian, “The claim that the impeachment trial costs the Senate P25 million a day is completely untrue.”

In a statement dated Oct. 14, the Senate president said expenses directly attributable to the trial totaled P14,553,561.70 over 44 trial days, or an average of about P330,763 per day.

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READ: Duterte camp hits prosecution Senate majority over dropped articles

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These expenses covered meals for personnel during extended sessions, supplies, overtime pay, and the rental of an outside venue for budget deliberations, as the trial occupied most of the Senate’s available rooms, he said.

He explained that the P25-million figure included personnel and senators’ salaries, maintenance expenses, rentals, and utilities—costs the Senate incurs regardless of whether an impeachment trial is ongoing.

Gatchalian said the Senate had extended its hours and devoted full days to the proceedings to ensure the trial progressed at an acceptable pace without unduly disrupting its legislative work and daily operations.

“The Constitution gives the Senate the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. The Senate is fulfilling this duty as required by law,” he said.

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His statement came after Vice President Duterte’s spokesperson, Paolo Panelo Jr., claimed that the Senate had spent P500 million on 20 trial days devoted to two impeachment articles that the prosecution later withdrew.

READ: Lacson urges Duterte spox to rectify misleading impeachment cost estimate

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Panelo also estimated that the total public cost of the abandoned articles exceeded P1 billion, including other expenses.

This, as the prosecution withdrew three of the four articles of impeachment against Duterte, leaving Article II, which concerns allegations of unexplained wealth, nondisclosure of assets, and failure to divest from business interests, as the sole remaining basis for the trial.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also earlier disputed Panelo’s computation, saying the P25-million daily figure referred to the Senate’s overall operating expenses and that the impeachment trial had a separate budget allocation, as Gatchalian also stated.

In response to Lacson’s statement, Panelo maintained that his estimate was based on “desktop research,” adding that his concern was the use of government resources on impeachment articles that the prosecution later withdrew.

Panelo said the withdrawal deprived Duterte of the opportunity to refute the allegations and seek acquittal on the basis of evidence and law.

He then claimed that he was not blaming the Senate for wasting public funds, even describing Lacson’s media release as “misleading.”

“What is important is that substantial government resources have been spent on articles of impeachment that the Senate Impeachment Court can no longer rule on, and apparently had no other purpose than to malign the Vice President, who would have no fair opportunity to refute them,” Panelo said.

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“I was simply asking why members of the Senate majority appear unperturbed by that decision, when the time and resources spent on those 20 days could have been used for legislative work and hearings that actually serve the Filipino people,” he added. /mr