MANILA, Philippines — Fresh off a high-stakes leadership shakeup in the upper chamber, the battle lines for the upcoming accountability trial are expanding into the public sphere. A broad coalition of activist groups, civil society organizations, and academics has launched a fierce campaign to prevent Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero from taking the helm of the Senate Impeachment Court.
The pushback comes immediately after the newly formed Senate majority reached an initial consensus to appoint Escudero to lead the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which is locked in to begin on July 6, 2026.
The activist coalition—led by umbrella groups such as 1Sambayan, Tindig Pilipinas, the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines—warned that placing Escudero in the center chair could instantly “melt” the credibility of the Senate’s fresh leadership structure.
The groups explicitly pointed to Escudero’s controversial administrative track record as the core reason for their distrust:
[ THE ESCUDERO IMPEACHMENT RESUME ]
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┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ THE 2025 PROCEDURAL FUDGE ] [ THE ACTIVIST DIRECTIVE ]
• **Stalling Allegations:** As Senate President in February 2025, • **"Imperfect and Dangerous":** The coalition labeled Escudero's
Escudero drew fierce public backlash for refusing to "forthwith" • potential return to the center chair as *“perhaps the most
convene the impeachment court after the House first passed charges.• imperfect and one of the most dangerous options available.”*
• **The Archiving Trigger:** Critics argue his early procedural • **The Counter-Proposal:** The groups urged the chamber to rethink
maneuvers intentionally dragged out the clock until the Supreme • the plan and instead install newly minted Senate President
Court ultimately declared that initial complaint unconstitutional. • Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian as the active presiding officer.
“The argument that Escudero is best suited for the role because of his legal background is unconvincing,” Tindig Pilipinas stated in a joint briefing. “An impeachment trial is not merely a legal exercise; it is a constitutional and political process that demands public trust in the neutrality of those who oversee it.”
Despite mounting external pressure, senators within the newly aligned majority bloc have continued to defend the strategic rationale behind selecting the 56-year-old veteran lawmaker.
According to Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the shifting rules of the Senate’s judicial structure require a specific, highly technical skill set:
[ THE SENATE MAJORITY BLUEPRINT ] │ ▼[ Rules Revision ] ──► Under recent modifications to the Senate's official impeachment framework, the sitting Senate President is **no longer automatically required** to serve as the court's presiding officer. │ ▼[ Non-Lawyer Cushion ]──► Because newly installed Senate President Gatchalian does not possess a formal law degree, the bloc sought an experienced legal specialist to handle high-frequency objections from defense counsel. │ ▼[ The Author's Edge ] ──► Proponents point out that Escudero is uniquely qualified because **he personally authored the very impeachment rules** the chamber adopted to run the 2026 trial process.
While civil society groups ramp up their resistance networks, the proposal received an immense political boost from the executive branch. Speaking to reporters on Thursday during a bilateral summit with Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised absolutely zero objections to Escudero running the court.
Marcos explicitly brushed aside complaints surrounding the 2025 delay, arguing that the ultimate collapse of that initial case was dictated purely by a Supreme Court constitutional ruling—an outcome that had nothing to do with Escudero’s administrative performance.
Gatchalian has since clarified that while the majority consensus strongly favors Escudero, the appointment has not been officially signed off and will undergo final floor revisions. The true baseline will be permanently established when the chamber officially reconstitutes itself into a formal judicial body on July 6, where individual senators will cast their un-sealed votes to lock in the trial’s master director.