Impeachment court lowers voting threshold to convict Sara Duterte

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday voted to lower the threshold required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial by setting it to two-thirds of the senator-judges who are legally allowed to participate in the proceedings.

Thirteen senator-judges voted in favor of the motion put forward by Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo, who sought reconsideration of the July 6 ruling setting the voting threshold at 16 which is two-thirds of the 24-member Senate.

Six senator-judges did not participate, while one voted no.

This came following the presentation of arguments by the House prosecution panel and Duterte’s defense team. The parties were given 15 minutes each.

“It means that for purposes of determining the two-thirds concurrence vote required for conviction under Article 11, Section 3.6, the phrase 'All members of the Senate' shall refer only to those members who, at the time of the vote, remain legally and factually capable of participating in the impeachment proceedings," Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero said.

He said excluded members are those:

• detained and/or suspended or otherwise legally restrained from exercising the functions of a senator,
• persons sought by authorities and whose whereabouts are unknown,
• suffering from a physical or medical incapacity,
• beyond the coercive processes of the Senate, and
• others similarly situated.

“The remaining [qualified] members shall then constitute the denominator from which the required two- thirds concurrence shall be computed. When the computation of two-thirds results in a fraction, the number of votes required for conviction shall be rounded up to the next higher whole number, even if the fraction is less than 0.5,” Escudero added.

He, however, clarified that the lower threshold will only apply for the impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte.

“This is for this occasion only. It shall not constitute a binding precedent in any future impeachment proceedings. This is a ruling, not an amendment of the rules,” Escudero said.

“As such, it has no binding but merely persuasive effect on future impeachment proceedings, the hands of whom we cannot shackle, as there is no stare decisis as between impeachment courts. 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 process,” he added.

Tulfo sought consideration since four of their colleagues have not been present in the impeachment trial proceedings.

Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained on plunder and other related charges due to their alleged involvement in flood control projects and undeclared campaign donations, respectively.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found amid a standing warrant of arrest issued against him by the International Criminal Court due to his alleged involvement in the drug war deaths.

Senator Loren Legarda, for her part, is on an extended medical leave abroad due to a lung ailment.

The 1987 Constitution states that "no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate."

In early September, the impeachment court invited retired Supreme Court Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno, and Hilario Davide Jr. and Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna as amici curiae or friends of the court.

Panganiban, Puno, and Davide said that the voting threshold should be based on the number of senator-judges who actively participated in the impeachment trial.

However, Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, offered a different view that the two-thirds concurrence requirement should relate to the entire membership of the Senate; hence, a conviction by 16 senator-judges is needed. —LDF/AOL, GMA News