MANILA — The Senate is moving at full speed. Senate President Alan Peter S. Cayetano has formally signed the acknowledgment of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte, clearing the way for the upper chamber to sit as an Impeachment Court as early as Monday, May 18, 2026.
Cayetano confirmed on Thursday, May 14, that the Senate received the impeachment resolution, articles, and supporting annexes transmitted by the House of Representatives. In a decisive move, he set the convening of the Impeachment Court at 3:00 p.m. on May 18, or as soon as practicable once procedural matters are settled.
Both the prosecution and the defense will be summoned to appear before the Senate acting as the Impeachment Court on a date yet to be finalized. The Senate Secretariat has been ordered to include the Articles of Impeachment in the Calendar for Ordinary Business, paving the way for immediate referral and action.
Cayetano stressed that the chamber is proceeding “in proper order” in accordance with Rule I of the Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials and Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution. A copy of the signed notice was also officially furnished to Vice President Duterte.
The development escalates one of the most high-stakes political dramas in recent Philippine history, thrusting the Senate into the center of a process that could define the final stretch of the current administration.
With the clock now ticking, all eyes turn to the Senate as it prepares to weigh the charges against the country’s second-highest official. The May 18 convening marks the official opening of what promises to be a closely watched impeachment battle.
