THE SENATE isn’t bent on slowing down the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, says Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, even after a local court found probable cause to litigate her for threatening President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
According to Gatchalian, the grave threats case before the QC regional trial court has no effect on the ongoing impeachment trial.
“Two proceedings are separate, with the RTC handling the criminal case and the Senate handling the impeachment case,” Gatchalian said.
“The [regional trial] court is different from the impeachment court. How the case goes in court is different from how the impeachment case goes,” he added.
“The court had determined that there was probable cause. There will be a hearing. But it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s already guilty and that the court already has a verdict.”
The senate president stood firm that the impeachment trial will go on and as such, the defense team will still have to present its evidence.
“We’ll see how they will defend [their side], and from there, we’ll make our decision,” he added.
On Saturday morning, Duterte personally appeared at the Quezon City Hall of Justice to post a P360,000 bail for three counts of grave threat charges.
But even before he was posted bail, Duterte refused to go to the fifth floor (where the court is holed up) via the elevator without the media inside with her, even as she claimed feeling unsafe with the police and with the local courts.
Duterte was issued an arrest warrant on Friday, Sept. 4, after a Quezon City court found probable cause to charge her with three counts of grave threats.
The charges stem from Duterte’s public statements in 2024 that she had hired an assassin to kill the president, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Gatchalian also called on the police to seriously look into Duterte’s claims that she fears for her life following the issuance of the arrest warrant against her.
“Everyone, including the vice president, should feel safe,” Gatchalian quipped.