MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine Senate can only act on the impeachment complaint against Vice-President Sara Duterte on June 2 when Congress resumes after the midterm elections, Senate President Francis Escudero told a briefing on Thursday.
Escudero said the senators who will act as jurors need to swear an oath while Congress is in session before they can convene as an impeachment court.
“Legally, it cannot be done,” Escudero said.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday impeached Duterte, the daughter of the country’s firebrand former leader Rodrigo Duterte.
The impeachment complaint stemmed from allegations Duterte misused public funds while she was vice president and education minister, amassed unexplained wealth, and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady and the lower house speaker. She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
She became the second-most-senior elected official in the Philippines to be impeached after former President Joseph Estrada in 2000.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair)
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