Gatchalian Unsure on Minority Boycott of Duterte Impeach Trial

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said Monday he could not confirm whether the minority bloc would boycott the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Senate, sitting as an Impeachment Court, is set to begin proceedings on July 6. Duterte is the first vice president to face such a trial.

Gatchalian also said it remained unclear whether Duterte would appear. "We were monitoring this morning. We haven't received any word yet," he said, mixing Filipino and English.

All 24 senators will serve as judges. Gatchalian will act as presiding officer.

"I'm not sure of such possibility," he said of a minority boycott. "I'm encouraging our senator-judges to attend."

He described the trial as a constitutional duty. "The people were waiting for this to start so that we would be able to return to our normal responsibilities," Gatchalian added.

Minority Senators Loren Legarda and Robinhood Padilla have told Gatchalian they will participate.

Once the trial ends, the Senate must resume its investigation into the flood control budget scandal and debate the proposed 2027 national budget. "These are the things that we need to tackle in the next few months," Gatchalian said.