Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial on August 31, 2026: No Senate Hearing, Prosecution Team Holds Press Conference
There was no public Senate impeachment-court hearing reported for Monday, August 31, 2026. The public trial archive lists Day 19 on August 26 and the next courtroom session as Day 20 on September 1. That means no witness testimony, cross-examination, exhibit presentation, or Senate ruling was recorded in the impeachment trial on August 31.
What happened on August 31?
The House prosecution team held a press conference about the impeachment case. The same-day YouTube recording is titled “LIVE - House prosecution team press conference (Aug. 31, 2026).” It was a briefing by the prosecutors, not a session of the Senate impeachment court. (Watch the August 31 press conference on YouTube)
The distinction matters because statements made at a press conference do not automatically become sworn testimony or admitted evidence in the Senate record. The briefing also did not amount to a conviction, acquittal, dismissal, or other final decision in Vice President Sara Duterte’s case.
No new courtroom evidence was taken that day
Because no public Senate hearing was held, the court did not hear a witness, conduct cross-examination, receive a new exhibit in open session, or issue a merits ruling on August 31.
The case therefore remained at the same procedural stage reached at the end of Day 19. On August 26, the Senate had been examining questions about the Office of the Vice President’s confidential-fund records, including testimony that Lemuel Ortonio submitted a sealed package of acknowledgment receipts to the Commission on Audit without personally examining the documents inside. That testimony raised a verification question, but it did not by itself prove that the receipts were false or resolve the impeachment charges.
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