Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, whose defection from the Cayetano bloc broke the impasse in the Senate leadership struggle in favor of the Gatchalian-led group, will preside over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which is set to begin on July 6, a highly reliable source said.
The source stressed Escudero will not be Senate president.
Sen. Joel Villanueva is also expected to join the Gatchalian bloc this week, following Escudero’s move on June 3, according to the same source. His transfer would increase the bloc’s strength to 13 senators, enough to elect a Senate president after the position was declared vacant last Wednesday.
With the support of 12 senators now identified as the new Senate majority, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore and, as such, was designated acting Senate president.
Senate Resolution No. 430, as amended by the new Senate majority on June 3, provides that the Senate president shall serve as presiding officer in an impeachment trial “unless the Senate, by a majority vote of the members present, elects another senator as the presiding officer.”
The source noted that only two members of the new Senate majority are lawyers: Escudero and Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
While a law degree is not required for a presiding officer in a vice presidential impeachment trial, legal experts say legal training would be an advantage.
Escudero, however, carries the baggage of his failure to convene an impeachment court for Duterte’s 2025 impeachment case despite the Supreme Court’s directive that the Senate proceed “forthwith.”
Escudero was ousted as Senate president on Sept. 8 following exposés alleging massive corruption in flood-control projects through budget insertions. He was succeeded by Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who in turn was unseated on May 11 by then minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano after the latter secured the support of 13 senators, aided by the presence of fugitive Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who faces an outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
The subsequent detention of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on plunder charges and Dela Rosa’s absence reduced the Cayetano bloc to 11 members. Escudero’s transfer to the Gatchalian bloc supplied the numbers needed for a quorum, based on the Supreme Court’s 1949 ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco.
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