The Philippine Senate president says the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will begin after Congress reopens in June and will be done fairly to avoid a repeat of a 2001 impeachment proceeding that stalled and sparked massive protests that forced a president to step down.

The Philippine lower house on Wednesday impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of the country's firebrand former leader, setting the stage for a rare, high-profile trial in the Senate.

Why would the Senate be pressed to immediately act on the Articles of Impeachment filed against Vice President Sara Duterte when the House of Representatives took more than two months to act on it? Senate President Francis Escudero blurted out this question when he was asked on Thursday to explain why the Senate did not immediately act on the Articles of Impeachment upon their arrival in the Senate on Wednesday