DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 April) — The Supreme Court En Banc on Wednesday ruled that the Senate has the prerogative over when to convene as an impeachment court to begin the trial, stating that the phrase “shall forthwith proceed” in the 1987 Constitution places the timing under the upper chamber’s discretion.

The SC’s ruling stemmed from a petition for mandamus filed by Catalino Aldea Generillo Jr. on February 13, 2025, seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the Senate to immediately constitute into an impeachment court and forthwith conduct public trial based on the first Articles of Impeachmen against Vice President Sara Duterte, which the House of Representatives transmitted to the Senate on February 5 of the same year.

The Court, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda, held that the Constitution does not prescribe a fixed timeframe for the Senate to begin an impeachment trial, unlike the House of Representatives, which is required to act on an impeachment complaint within a certain number of session days.

The Court, however, reminded the Senate that it must “avoid undue delay to uphold the principle that public officers must at all times be accountable to the people,” even though the Constitution does not specify an exact date for it to begin trial.

“The SC clarified that the term ‘forthwith’ in Article XI, Section 3(4) of the Constitution means within a reasonable time, which may be longer or shorter, depending on the circumstances of each case. This allows the Senate to make the necessary preparations to convene as an impeachment court,” it said.

The Court held that the Senate acted on the “impeachment complaint in a timely manner,” contrary to Generillo’s claim.

The petition, however, was declared moot after the Court nullified the first Articles of Impeachment against Duterte in its July 25, 2025 ruling and its subsequent January 28, 2026 ruling, which denied the motion for reconsideration of the Lower House, on the grounds of violation of due process and the one-year bar rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution.

Shortly after the Court announced this latest ruling, the House Committee on Justice found probable cause in the two impeachment complaints against Duterte during the final day of the clarificatory hearing.

Voting 53-0 in favor of finding probable cause, the Committee will now transmit its report, along with the resolution on the consolidated complaints filed by Rev. Father Saballa, et. al., and Atty. Nathaniel G. Cabrera and articles of impeachment, to the plenary for another vote on whether to forward the case to the Senate.

Under Article XI, Section 3(3) of the Constitution, a vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House will be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee on Justice, or override its contrary resolution.

Once the Articles of Impeachment are filed, the Senate will later convene as an impeachment court. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)