The Senate is preparing to convene as an impeachment court on May 18, 2026, following the formal acceptance of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said.

To ensure that the legislature's regular work is not disrupted, the chamber is considering a "marathon hearing" schedule for the impeachment trial or extending session hours into the evening.

Cayetano emphasized that the majority bloc intends to stick to the established rules in order to maintain objectivity and avoid delays.

"Once you convene and issue the summons, it will proceed straight. You just follow the number of days. So there will be no delay. Whatever is in the rules, whatever is in the constitution, that's it. Trial proper maybe in June? I don't want to preempt the calendar. But if it's 15 days, so we will follow. Actually, what we're doing now after the meeting, then seeing you, we're going to make a draft calendar. So the calendar will not be based on anything that is discretionary. It will be based on objectivity. So if it's stated in the rules,  this number of days to answer, this number of days to respond,  then trial immediately," Cayetano said.

The Senate President clarified that no changes to the impeachment rules will come from the majority bloc, citing a meeting they held the previous night.

"I'm saying it won't come from the majority because we had a meeting last night. We are happy with the former rules. Whatever good rules were used in past impeachments are good for us now. However, I cannot remove the right of each senator to stand. The problem is, it will be delayed if we still change the rules because they would need to be published again. But from the majority — that's why in the letter, I just wanted to be safe," he added.