Only senators who are capable of performing their duties should be counted in the two-thirds voting threshold required to convict in an impeachment trial, according to House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin.
Garin’s statement on Saturday comes ahead of the Senate Impeachment Court’s scheduled oral arguments next week, where prosecution and defense panels will address the voting threshold before senator-judges vote on the matter.
Taking a practical view based on current circumstances in the Senate, Garin cited precedents in local government and the legislature where suspended officials are prevented from exercising their functions.
‘That’s why you are suspended, you are not receiving a salary,’ Garin said.
Garin referenced opinions from retired Supreme Court Chief Justices Reynato Puno, Artemio Panganiban, and Hilario Davide Jr., who interpreted the constitutional requirement of ‘two-thirds of all members’ as a flexible figure based on the active body over which the Senate has direct jurisdiction.
‘In the impeachment court, what the three justices are saying is that the reason it is two-thirds in the Constitution is because it’s not a fixed number. It will be two-thirds of the members of the Senate. And that means the Senate has direct jurisdiction over those it can compel,’ Garin said.
‘If you have a member who does not show up, goes missing, refuses to participate, and you do not even know where to send a letter, again, you cannot compel that member to be present because they voluntarily chose not to show up. They voluntarily turned their back on their obligation as a senator. So how can you include that in the count?’ she added.
Garin maintained that suspended lawmakers are temporarily stripped of their membership status: ‘If a congressman or senator is suspended, can they vote? Can they work? The mere fact that their salary is withheld is a clear message that during that time, they are not a functioning member of the legislature.’
Prosecution counsel Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. stated that the retired jurists’ insights provide crucial guidance on whether the conviction threshold requires two-thirds of all 24 senators or merely two-thirds of those actively participating.
Tolosa emphasized the magistrates’ view that the constitutional provision cannot be interpreted in isolation.
‘Someone explained and said, only those who are legally qualified to vote. So when you have a case like the plunder law, for example, against you, and you’re suspended from exercising the functions of your office, you cannot vote,’ Tolosa said.
Tolosa further echoed Justice Panganiban’s call to apply basic principles of fairness and common sense over strict legal technicalities.
‘As he said, we just need to use common sense. And he said the most important principles here are the principles of fairness and truth,’ Tolosa said.