Marathon hearings, witnesses, bank accounts being opened - a lot can happen during an impeachment trial. A former presidential adviser believes the Senate is being placed in the hot seat due to the looming impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte.

Ex-presidential adviser Ronald Lllamas said Senate President Francis Escudero’s insistence that the trial commence after the State of the Nation address could be due to pressure from other senators.

“Huwag mo na gambalain ang aming mga bakasyon, ang aming mga plane ticket, hotel, restaurant. Gusto naming magpahinga, e late na sinubmit ‘yung impeachment kaya gusto namin ituloy ang bakasyon,” Llamas said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

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Some senators seeking reelection may want to do the trial after the elections since their vote in the trial may affect their chances in the midterm polls, Llamas said.

Still others may have calculated that a trial will be bad for them in the 2028 elections, he said, noting that senators could lose votes in Mindanao and among members of the Iglesia ni Cristo depending on the trial’s outcome.

Llamas noted that during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, only a minority of senators backed the impeachment. In the end, however, 20 senators voted to remove Corona from power.

“Marami pwedeng mangyari,” he said.

“If there is popular pressure, their minds can change because it is their survival that is on the line,” he added in Tagalog.