MANILA, Philippines — Pushing for complete institutional transparency over political compromise, lawmakers handling the upcoming trial of the nation’s second-highest official are demanding a full, unrestricted hearing. The House prosecution panel officially appealed to the Senate to allow the uninhibited presentation of all available witnesses and documentary evidence against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, the designated spokesperson for the prosecution team, emphasized during a radio interview with Super Radyo dzBB that a thorough public airing of the case is crucial for both senator-judges and the Filipino public to grasp the severity of the allegations.
The push for a wide-open presentation of evidence comes as the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, prepares to enforce a highly structured, tight calendar heading into the third quarter of the year:
[May 11, 2026: House Vote] ──► Impeachment Approved Overwhelmingly (257–25) │ ▼ (Organizing the Court)[May 18, 2026: Senate Robes] ◄── 23 Senators Don Maroon Robes & Take Oaths as Judges │ ▼ [July 6, 2026: Official Trial Commencement Target]
Under the tentative trial structure, the Senate is expected to handle pre-trial conferences from June 15 to June 26, culminating in an official trial start date on Monday, July 6. The trial proper will follow a strict schedule, operating from Monday to Wednesday starting at 2:00 PM onwards.
Faced with fears of potential political maneuvering inside the upper chamber following a recent leadership coup that installed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President, prosecutors are ensuring their evidence cannot be brushed aside as mere abstract partisan rhetoric:
[ CORE PROSECUTION EVIDENCE LEDGER ]
│
┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ FINANCIAL & AUDIT INVESTIGATION ] [ PHYSICAL & DIGITAL TRAUMA ]
• Suspicious bank transaction and tax records totaling **₱6.7 billion**. • Verified video logs of Duterte’s midnight public broadcast
• Official COA decisions disallowing **₱73.28 million** in unverified issued on Nov. 23, 2024, explicitly ordering the death of
2022 Office of the Vice President (OVP) confidential funds. President Marcos, the First Lady, and the Speaker.
Note: Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon confirmed that the panel intends to try the case on a per-article basis, leading off with the public death threats because the video record represents the “simplest” ground to definitively prove.
Beyond the walls of the Senate session hall, the prosecution team has identified public opinion and digital spaces as major battlefronts. Adiong explicitly noted that the panel is heavily prepping counter-strategies to neutralize a massive wave of coordinated misinformation and disinformation (“fake news”) designed to distort the documented trial facts online.
| Operational Focus | Congressional Defense Positions & Public Analysis |
| Routine House Swaps | Adiong downplayed rumors that recent leadership shuffles in House committee chairmanships were retaliatory strikes against lawmakers who voted against the impeachment, stating that leadership rotations occur regularly. |
| Shift to Institutions | Political analyst Ederson Tapia, a professor at the University of Makati, noted that a full, transparent presentation of evidence would strip away abstract personality politics, locking public attention onto actual institutional accountability. |
The Vice President’s defense team, anchored by legal counsel Michael Poa, confirmed they have received the formal Senate summons served on May 20. Under the active rules of procedure, Duterte has a non-extendible period of 10 calendar days to submit her formal answer, making June 1 her actual deadline to respond.
As both political factions lock in their final rosters, the trial is positioned as a historic litmus test for Philippine democratic stability—forcing the country’s legislative institutions to choose between documented constitutional compliance and raw, personality-driven alignment.