The question of who should preside over Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial has become one of the sharpest points of dispute inside the Senate, but the short answer is that the Senate president is the default choice, not a constitutional requirement.

The original rule

Under the Senate's original rules and long-standing practice, the Senate president automatically presides over an impeachment trial. The only exception written into the 1987 Constitution is when the President of the Philippines is the one on trial — in that case, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides instead.

The amendment

Weeks before the trial opened, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 48 on June 3, 2026, amending Rule II of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials. The amendment states that the Senate president shall preside in all other impeachment cases "unless the Senate, by a majority vote of the members present, elects another senator as the presiding officer."

A group of nine senators led by former Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano has since asked the Supreme Court to void the entire June 3 session — the same session where the rule change was adopted — arguing it was improperly convened.

What happened on July 6 (the first day of the impeachment trial against VP Sara Duterte)

When the impeachment court convened to try Duterte on July 6, senators used the new option. Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero was elected presiding officer by a vote of 12–8, after being nominated by Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson. 

Senate President Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian, who would have presided under the previous rules, remains Senate president, Escudero takes over only the presiding role for the impeachment trial, sitting beside Gatchalian at the podium.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano raised a point of order on the Senate floor opposing the move, citing records from the 1986 Constitutional Commission to argue that the framers intended the Senate president — not an elected alternative — to preside.

Sen. Pia Cayetano likewise urged her colleagues to examine those same commission records, arguing they support the position that the Senate president should preside over impeachment trials other than those involving the president himself.

Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan pushed back, arguing that the Constitution names only the Chief Justice as presiding officer, and only for the trial of a president — it is silent on who should preside in all other cases. He said this silence leaves the matter to the Senate, which the Constitution itself directs to promulgate its own rules of procedure for impeachment.

The Senate president remains the presumed presiding officer under Senate rules, but that role is not fixed by the Constitution and can be reassigned by majority vote — which is exactly what happened when Escudero was elected over Gatchalian on the trial's opening day. The dispute is not fully settled, however, with a Supreme Court petition still pending over the legality of the June 3 session that produced the rule change.

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