The Sara Duterte impeachment trial is moving closer to its July 6 opening, after the Senate impeachment court resumed pre-trial proceedings on June 22. The case is now unfolding under a new Senate President, following Sherwin Gatchalian’s replacement of Alan Peter Cayetano.
A Trial Moving Toward July 6
The Senate impeachment court has already begun the pre-trial stage in the case against Vice President Sara Duterte. Both the House prosecution panel and Duterte’s defense team filed their pre-trial briefs on June 15. The pre-trial conference was then set for June 18.
By June 22, the conference had resumed for the marking of evidence on the remaining articles of impeachment. The trial proper is expected to begin on July 6.
Duterte faces allegations involving misuse of public funds, unexplained wealth, and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. She denies wrongdoing and has called the case politically motivated.
If convicted, Duterte could be removed from office and barred from holding public office. That would have obvious consequences for 2028, when she is widely seen as a possible presidential contender.
The Senate Power Shift
The Senate will not only host the trial. Senators will sit as judges. That is why the leadership fight inside the chamber has become part of the story.
On June 17, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian replaced Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President. The move ended a tense struggle that began earlier in June, when a bloc of senators moved to declare Senate leadership posts vacant.
Cayetano was seen as closer to the Duterte camp. His brief hold on the Senate presidency raised questions about how the impeachment trial would be handled. His removal does not decide the case, but it changes the political atmosphere before the July 6 opening.
Gatchalian’s rise sends a different signal. It suggests that the Duterte bloc does not have firm control of the chamber at the very moment when Sara Duterte’s future may depend on Senate votes.
Duterte Bloc Under Pressure
The wider backdrop also includes Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a close Duterte ally and former police chief. In May, he resurfaced at the Senate after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest. His presence became part of a dramatic Senate standoff, including a lockdown and reports of gunfire, while then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano backed him. Dela Rosa later left the Senate amid the chaos.
Although Sara Duterte’s impeachment case and the ICC cases are separate legal matters, politically they overlap because they place the Duterte camp under pressure from different directions.
The coming trial will test the Senate’s ability to handle a historic case without looking like another battlefield between rival political dynasties.
