The Senate impeachment court ordered Vice President Sara Duterte to appear in person or through her lawyer on the first day of her trial on July 6.

The directive was issued in a notice signed on Thursday by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who will be the presiding officer of the impeachment court.

"Pursuant to Rule VII of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials and in accordance with the Writ of Summons issued on 19 May 2026, directing you to appear before the Senate of the Philippines upon notice, and to abide by, obey and perform such orders, directions, and judgements as the Senate of the Philippines shall make in the premises according to the Constitution and laws of the Philippines", you are hereby notified that 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 stated.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives for the second time after over one third of the members endorsed the impeachment complaint against her on May 11.

There are four articles of impeachment against the vice president. These are grave threats, where she reportedly threatened to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and then Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is assassinated.

This will be tackled in the first day of the impeachment on Monday.

The other articles of impeachment are unexplained wealth, charges of misusing confidential funds and bribery,

A total of 255 lawmakers voted for the impeachment of Duterte while 26 were against and nine others abstained from voting.

The number of lawmakers who voted for her impeachment increased this year compared to the 215 congressmen who endorsed the articles of her impeachment to the Senate for trial in 2025.

The Supreme Court voided the House of Representatives impeachment against Duterte as it voided the one-year bar rule on multiple proceedings.

The court denied an appeal by the House to reverse its ruling last January, paving the way for new impeachment complaint against the vice president.

Robina Asido/PHS