The Senate impeachment court on Monday elected Senator Francis Escudero as presiding officer in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, prevailing in a 12-4 vote despite objections that the move could face constitutional scrutiny. Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano argued that the 1987 Constitution requires the Senate President, now Senator Win Gatchalian, a non-lawyer, preside over impeachment trials except when the President is the respondent. The siblings warned that naming another senator could invite legal challenges, noting that a petition questioning the designation of a presiding officer has already been filed before the Supreme Court by Alan Peter Cayetano.






