The Senate impeachment court has formally placed Vice President Sara Duterte and the House of Representatives on notice that her impeachment trial will begin on Monday, July 6, marking the next major step in the proceedings against the country’s second-highest official.
In notices transmitted Thursday night, the impeachment court informed Duterte and the House that the Senate is ready to proceed with the trial at the Senate session hall in Pasay City.
The notice to Duterte was signed by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, who will preside over the impeachment court. It directed the Vice President to appear before the court on July 6, either in person or through counsel.
The notice was issued pursuant to Rule VII of the Rules of Impeachment Trials and in accordance with the Writ of Summons issued on May 19, 2026, which directed Duterte to appear before the Senate upon notice and to comply with the orders, directions, and judgments of the chamber under the Constitution and laws of the Philippines.
“You are hereby notified that the trial will commence on the 6th day of July at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and are further directed to appear on said date, in person or through counsel, before the Impeachment Court at the Session Hall of the Senate of the Philippines, Pasay City,” the notice said.
Copies of the notice were also furnished to the public prosecutors handling the impeachment case against Duterte.
In a separate notice to the House of Representatives, the impeachment court said the Senate “is ready to proceed upon the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte at the Session Hall of the Senate of the Philippines.”
“The trial shall begin on July 6, 2026, at 2:00 in the afternoon,” it added.
The notices formally set the stage for the opening of the impeachment trial, where senators will sit as judges in proceedings that could determine Duterte’s political future.