00:00The Senate may convene as an impeachment court as early as Wednesday, May 13th.
00:04If the House of Representatives transmits the articles of impeachment
00:07against Vice President Sarah Duterte, reaches the upper chamber by Tuesday.
00:11In a radio interview, Sherwin Gachalian said the Senate is ready to act forthwith
00:16once it officially receives the impeachment complaint.
00:19While the House is expected to vote on the charges on Monday
00:22before forwarding the articles to the upper chamber,
00:25Gachalian also said, based on statements by Vicente Tito Soto III,
00:30that the impeachment court could be convened immediately by Wednesday.
00:33He stressed that while the Senate has discretion in interpreting the term forthwith,
00:38the Constitution clearly requires the chamber to proceed with the impeachment trial
00:42once the articles are received.
00:44Meanwhile, Erwin Tulfo said,
00:46Senators have already discussed a possible schedule for the proceedings,
00:49with trial hearings tentatively set on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
00:53Tulfo clarified that while the impeachment court may convene immediately,
00:58the actual trial may not begin right away to allow both the prosecution and defense time to prepare
01:02and for senators to finalize the trial rules.
01:05Earlier, Soto stressed that the Senate would convene as an impeachment court
01:09as soon as it receives the articles of impeachment against Duterte,
01:13regardless of opposition from some senators.
01:15Soto maintained that convening the impeachment court is a constitutional duty of the Senate,
01:19adding that the chamber is ready for anything should moves arise to oppose the proceedings.
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