LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Aug. 17, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – Monday marks the 16th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, with Presiding Officer Francis Escudero expected to issue a ruling on possible violations of Rule 18, which governs public statements and social media posts by parties involved in the trial.

The ruling comes after Escudero warned last week that counsels in the case had been “crossing the lines” by making public comments on matters related to the pending trial. The Senate impeachment rules prohibit parties from making public comments or disclosures concerning the merits of an ongoing impeachment case.

Key developments:

• The clerk of court has been monitoring public statements made by counsels in the weeks leading up to the issue.

• On Day 15, lead defense counsel Sheila Sison called attention to a social media post by private prosecutor Amando Ligutan.
• Ligutan’s post said that “misleading questions are not allowed even on cross-examination,” which Sison believed was a response to defense counsel Katherine Ferrer’s statement that misleading questions are allowed during cross-examination.
• Ligutan will be given an opportunity to explain his social media post before the court rules on the matter.
• Some House lawmakers over the weekend said the admonition should also apply to senator-judges and Duterte, noting that the rule likewise bars them from making public statements on the merits of the trial.

• The House prosecution is expected to present House Legislative Information Bureau Director Marivic Pareja as the trial proceeds. He is expected to present records related to the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.
• During the House justice panel’s hearings, Pareja was invited to present records involving nine envelopes allegedly delivered to a former Department of Education undersecretary by special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda when Duterte was education secretary.