Photo courtesy of Ping Lacson/Facebook.
The Senate may tap about Php 26 million from its budget to fund a possible impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said.
Lacson, who heads the Senate committee on accounts, said around Php 27 million was allocated under the 2025 General Appropriations Act for impeachment-related expenses, based on his message sent to reporters on Tuesday.
He said about Php 500,000 had already been spent when the previous Articles of Impeachment against Duterte were transmitted to the Senate in 2025.
That earlier case reached the Senate in February 2025 but was later archived after the Supreme Court ruled the complaint unconstitutional.
At the time, the Senate was led by then Senate President Francis Escudero, while Lacson abstained from the vote. Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, then minority leader, was among those who voted against archiving the complaint.
Lacson said the remaining funds were covered by continuing appropriations, allowing the chamber to finance proceedings if new impeachment articles were transmitted.
He stressed that the budget allocation was originally intended for impeachment proceedings involving Duterte.
Sotto, meanwhile, said the Senate would not need to procure new robes for senators acting as impeachment judges, noting that existing ones used in the previous proceedings would suffice.
The House committee on justice was set to conclude its hearings on April 29 to determine probable cause on new impeachment complaints against Duterte, which include allegations of corruption, misuse of confidential funds, and an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.