May 19, 2026
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will not interfere in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as the Senate convenes as an impeachment trial court Monday, according to Malacañang.
“We know that an impeachment trial is the work and mandate of the Senate. There is no need for the President to interfere in the Senate’s mandate because we have separation of powers,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Tuesday.
According to Castro, Marcos has always maintained that all officials involved in any instance of wrongdoing in the government, including the flood control mess, must be held liable.
“So, the impeachment trial cannot be an exception. If there are those who need to be held responsible, then they must be made accountable,” she said.
She urged the senator-judges to remain fair, “because the process of impeachment trial is ultimately for the best interest of the Filipino people.”
Malacañang, also distanced itself from rumors of another Senate coup to unseat Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, only a week after he got enough votes to oust his predecessor, Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
“The change in leadership in the Senate is their own undertaking. The President has nothing to do with whether the senators change their leadership or not. That is entirely up to them,” she said.
Castro, however, confirmed that the fourth full meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) in Malacañang scheduled on May 19 would no longer push through.
She did not disclose the reason for the cancellation of the meeting.
The Inquirer also reached out to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, which serves as Ledac secretariat, but they did not respond.
Cayetano earlier said deferment of the Ledac meeting was a sign of an attempt to unseat him.
Marcos would have met the new Senate leadership, led by Cayetano and Senate Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Acting Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, during the Ledac meeting.
Created through Republic Act No. 7640, Ledac serves as a consultative body to the President.
During Ledac meetings, lawmakers and Cabinet members are expected to discuss priority policies and government programs that would improve the country’s socioeconomic conditions.
Malacañang earlier said Marcos expected Congress to still pass 21 of the administration’s priority legislations, including bills to fully abolish the travel tax and to ban political dynasties, despite the recent leadership change in the Senate.
The executive-proposed Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (Uplift) law, which is a priority measure of Marcos as the national government’s response to the price and energy shocks caused by the Middle East crisis, should have been discussed during the Ledac meeting.