MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-two senators of the 19th Congress took their oath as senator-judges on Tuesday as the Philippine Senate convened as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte.
The oath-taking took place during a plenary session, marking a significant development in the ongoing impeachment proceedings. Although originally scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, the Senate convened a day earlier.
The move followed a motion by the Senate’s two-member minority bloc, which called for the chamber to convene immediately as an impeachment court.
The bloc cited lawmakers’ constitutional duty to initiate the trial. However, the motion did not gain consensus among the rest of the senators.
The impeachment case against Vice President Duterte will continue to unfold as the Senate begins to hear the case in its judicial capacity.
