MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday said there is no problem with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero serving as the presiding officer for the Senate’s upcoming trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
This came after the Senate majority bloc endorsed Escudero as presiding officer, citing his legal expertise and prior experience in impeachment proceedings.
“As a matter of fact, the rules that were adopted by the Senate were the rules that Senator Chiz wrote during last year's impeachment, when they were handling the last year's impeachment complaint,” Marcos said in an interview in Kazan, Russia before returning to Manila.
“So, in terms of his ability to be able to run the trial, I don't think that's in doubt,” he added.
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday confirmed that members of the new Senate majority bloc had reached an initial consensus to elect Escudero as the presiding officer of the impeachment court.
The formal election for a new presiding officer will be held when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court on July 6.
Escudero, a lawyer, previously presided over the Senate impeachment court in 2025 when he was Senate President, overseeing the impeachment trial of Duterte.
However, his previous role drew criticism from some quarters.
Marcos dismissed concerns over Escudero’s capability, saying the earlier impeachment proceedings of Duterte were halted due to a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that declared the initial complaint against the Vice President unconstitutional.
“Those are opinions. I don't think that reflects in any way on how he will do. If you remember, the reason that the impeachment trial last year came to a stop was because of the Supreme Court decision. And that had nothing to do with Senator Chiz),” he said. (PNA)
