Former Senate president Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Photo courtesy of PNA.
Senator Chiz Escudero was elected Monday as presiding officer of the impeachment court that will try Vice President Sara Duterte.
The election placed Escudero at the helm of the proceedings despite earlier expectations that the Senate president could preside over the trial.
It was the second time Escudero took on a presiding role in an impeachment case involving Duterte.
As Senate president in June 2025, Escudero led the Senate when it first convened as an impeachment court for the earlier case against the vice president.
That case, however, was later affected by a Supreme Court ruling that found the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives unconstitutional.
The Senate eventually archived the first impeachment case against Duterte in August last year.
New impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in the House this year after the one-year constitutional bar on filing another complaint had lapsed, leading to her impeachment anew on May 11.
The Senate amended its impeachment rules during the June 3 session, allowing senator-judges other than the Senate president to preside over impeachment trials, except in cases involving the president, which must be presided over by the chief justice.