Senator JV Ejercito on Thursday said the Senate’s current schedule has become a significant “challenge“ as senators juggle committee hearings, budget deliberations, and the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In an interview o DZRH's Dos Por Dos, Ejercito said the overlapping schedules have made it difficult for senators to accommodate all their responsibilities, particularly as the impeachment trial is held from Monday to Wednesday.

“Ang kakaiba kasi kasabay ngayon ng impeachment kaya napakahirap ng scheduling namin,” Ejercito said.

“Ang sikip [ng schedule], sobrang tight. ‘Yun ang challenge ngayon,” he added.

He noted that budget hearings previously had the entire week allotted for deliberations. However, with the impeachment trial taking place three days a week, budget hearings have been compressed into Thursdays and Fridays.

Ejercito, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and is also a senator-judge in the impeachment trial, said he has been forced to multitask to keep up with both responsibilities.

“‘Yung sinabi ni Sen. Win totoo po ‘yun nakakadrain po may impeachment tapos may plenary ka,” he said.

Ejercito said he reviews budget materials from various government departments while listening to arguments and proceedings during the impeachment trial.

“Hindi mo maiaalis sa akin, syempre kailangan kong mag-multi-tasking dahil hindi ko matatapos itong budget deliberation, at ‘yung pagsasalansan dito kung hindi ko siya gagawin during the rest of the day… Sa totoo lang nagmumulti-tasking ako minsan na habang nakikinig ako ay nagrereview din tayo ng budget ng iba’t ibang departamento,” he said.

To address the time constraints, the Senate temporarily suspended rules that generally prohibit committee hearings from being held while plenary sessions are ongoing, allowing budget briefings and other committee activities to continue despite the impeachment proceedings.