The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday voted to revise the 16-vote threshold needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial.
Senator-judges voted 13-1, with six Duterte allies abstaining, that the constitutionally required two-thirds guilty verdict by ‘all members of the Senate’ refers only to those ‘capable of participating’.
This modified trial presiding officer Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero’s July 6 ruling that a fixed 16 votes were required to convict Duterte.
The vote came after the impeachment court heard oral arguments from the prosecution and defense on how the constitutionally required two-thirds vote for conviction should be computed.
Under the newly adopted rule, the constitutionally required two-thirds vote for conviction will be based only on senators who remain legally and factually capable of participating in the impeachment proceedings at the time of voting.
Escudero said the computation will exclude senators who are detained, suspended or otherwise legally restrained from performing their functions; persons sought by authorities whose whereabouts are unknown; those suffering from a physical or medical incapacity; those beyond the coercive processes of the Senate; and others similarly situated.
‘While the chair takes exception to this decision, the chair nonetheless accepts it as a judgment of this court and is bound to give it effect,’ Escudero said in granting the appeal.
‘Accordingly, the chair accepts and declares the ruling adopted by the court as the new controlling ruling upon further proceedings and the chair shall apply this ruling faithfully,’ he added.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on May 11 on allegations of graft, corruption, bribery and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally President Ferdinand Marcos.
But Escudero clarified that the new rule will apply only to the current impeachment court and will not bind future impeachment proceedings.
‘It shall not constitute a binding precedent in any future impeachment proceedings. This is a ruling not an amendment of the rules,’ he said.
Escudero also said that if the computation of the two-thirds requirement results in a fraction, it will be rounded up to the next higher whole number, even if the fraction is less than .5.
‘This shall ensure that no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate as determined by the court in this new controlling ruling,’ the presiding officer said.
Only Escudero voted against adopting the new rule.
Sen. Mark Villar, despite being part of the minority bloc, voted in favor of the appeal, while the rest of the minority senators did not participate in the voting.
If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and permanently barred from holding any public office.
Several senators have failed to participate in the trial, including Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, Rodante Marcoleta and Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa.
Estrada and Marcoleta are currently detained amid separate plunder charges, while dela Rosa has been in hiding amid an arrest order from the International Criminal Court.
Sen. Loren Legarda, meanwhile, has been absent from the impeachment court since early August, citing medical leave.
The current active senator-judges in the trial are:
Majority bloc
Senate president Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian
Senate president pro tempore Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III
Majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri
Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero
Sen. Risa Hontiveros
Sen. Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan
Sen. JV Ejercito
Sen. Raffy Tulfo
Sen. Erwin Tulfo
Sen. Joel Villanueva
Sen. Bam Aquino
Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson
Sen. Lito Lapid
Minority bloc
Minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano
Sen. Pia Cayetano
Sen. Mark Villar
Sen. Camille Villar
Sen. Bong Go
Sen. Robin Padilla
Sen. Imee Marcos