Pimentel urges all-senators鈥� caucus on Duterte impeachment timeline
Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III appealed to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero to call for an all-senators’ caucus so they can decide once and for all the timeline of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
At the “Kapihan sa Senado” forum on Thursday, Pimentel said he would send a letter to Escudero’s office regarding the matter and also talk to him personally at the soonest possible time.
“What the Senate president could well do is to call for a caucus,” he said.
Asked if he is also planning to talk to other senators, Pimentel answered in the negative, noting that he does not want to make it appear that he is trying to sway his colleagues to his position.
Article continues after this advertisement“Let’s have a caucus first. Then they need to hear me out, and if they really don’t want to [hold an impeachment trial], let’s admit it to the people that they don’t want to do so. Because this really is a political question, and therefore this is a legitimate political issue for the people,” Pimentel said in a mix of Filipino and English.
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The minority leader believes the Senate is ready and capable of starting the impeachment process against Duterte as early as March.
But Escudero had already made it clear that the impeachment trial against Duterte would only start after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos had delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address in July.
