MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday voted 13-1 to lower the number of votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, ruling that the two-thirds requirement should apply only to senators legally and factually capable of participating in her impeachment trial.
The ruling reduced the conviction threshold from 16 to 14 votes. The court based the calculation on 20 senator-judges considered capable of participating in the proceedings. Two-thirds of 20 is 13.33, which must be rounded up to 14 votes.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero cast the lone dissenting vote but said he would enforce the ruling as the court’s new controlling decision.
“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.
Six senator-judges did not participate in the vote: Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Bong Go, Camille Villar and Robinhood Padilla. They had previously maintained that the impeachment court should not alter the number of votes required for conviction.
Sen. Mark Villar voted for the new threshold, along with 12 senators from the majority bloc. The court’s ruling identifies senators who are detained, suspended or otherwise legally restrained from performing their functions, those whose whereabouts remain unknown while authorities seek them, those suffering physical or medical incapacity, and those beyond the Senate’s coercive processes as among those who may be excluded from the calculation.
Four senator-judges have so far been unable to substantially participate in the trial: Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, who are detained in connection with separate plunder cases; Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who has not attended amid an arrest order from the International Criminal Court; and Loren Legarda, who has been on extended medical leave.
Escudero emphasized that the court continues to require two-thirds concurrence for conviction and that the ruling changes only the membership used to calculate the fraction for Duterte’s trial. He also said the decision applies only to the current impeachment case and does not amend Senate impeachment rules or establish a binding precedent for future proceedings.
The prosecution and defense had presented opposing interpretations of the Constitution before the vote.
House prosecutor Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno argued that senator-judges must be able to hear evidence, examine witnesses and deliberate before their votes can form part of the calculation.
“How can a judge who is not present at the hearings to examine witnesses and documents do this?” Diokno asked.
Diokno said the prosecution would focus on proving the impeachment charges rather than on the number of votes required for conviction.
Defense counsel Michael Poa opposed changing the 16-vote requirement during the trial. He argued that the Constitution refers to “all members of the Senate” and does not distinguish between senators who participate and those who do not.
“Absence does not create a vacancy. Nonparticipation does not create a vacancy. Being detained because of criminal charges does not create a vacancy,” Poa said.
The Senate’s rules state that an impeachment conviction requires the votes of two-thirds of all members.
The House prosecution panel also expects to continue presenting evidence in Duterte’s impeachment case in October. Lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said the panel was still evaluating its witness list and had not decided whether to continue presenting evidence under Article 3, which covers bribery allegations.
The panel is currently presenting evidence related to Article 2, which alleges unexplained wealth.