Senate President Not Required to Preside Over Impeachment Trials, Experts Say

The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has commenced, sparking a debate over constitutional interpretation regarding the presiding officer. Minority bloc senators, led by the Cayetano siblings, have argued that Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian should preside over the trial, citing Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution and records from the constitutional commission. However, constitutional law experts contend that their argument is flawed. The Constitution specifically designates the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to preside only over the impeachment trial of the President. For all other impeachment trials, the Constitution does not specify a particular presiding officer. "The Constitution only designated a specific presiding officer for the impeachment of a President, taking that from the US Constitution. But it doesn’t say who will preside for all other trials," Paolo Tamase, associate dean and constitutional law professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, told Rappler. UP law professor and constitutional law expert John Molo added, "If the Constitution is clear that it is only when the President [is impeached] that the Chief Justice will preside and everything else is open to the Senate and Impeachment Court, you follow the text because the text of the Constitution follows." Article XI, Section 3(8) of the Constitution grants Congress the power to "promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this section." Based on this, the Senate amended its impeachment rules through Senate Resolution No. 48, adopted on June 3. The new rule allows another senator to preside over the trial if the Senate, by a majority vote of members present, elects them. "The president of the Senate shall preside in all other cases of impeachment unless the Senate, by a majority vote of the members present, elects another senator as the presiding officer," the revised rule states. Historically, impeachment trials have been presided over by either the Chief Justice or the Senate President. Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. presided over the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada from December 2000 to January 2001. Former Senate Presidents Juan Ponce Enrile and Chiz Escudero presided over the impeachment trials of former Chief Justice Renato Corona and Vice President Sara Duterte, respectively. This marks Escudero's second time presiding over an impeachment trial. His previous experience in 2025 was controversial due to delays and the remanding of articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives, which further delayed proceedings. The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the 2025 impeachment after ruling in favor of Duterte, finding the House's articles of impeachment unconstitutional.