MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate President Franklin Drilon dismissed as wrong and baseless Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's claims that reversing the impeachment court’s earlier ruling requiring 16 votes for conviction in the middle of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte would result in a mistrial.
Drilon said that the June 6 ruling of Presiding Officer Francis Escudero may still be appealed before the entire impeachment court.
"That is incorrect. There is no basis for the claim of a mistrial," he said in an interview with DzBB over the weekend.
Cayetano earlier warned that changing the ruling which set the conviction threshold at 16 votes or two-thirds of the Senate’s full 24-member membership, could lead to a mistrial.
Drilon said that Escudero deliberately did not structure his ruling as final in anticipation of potential legal challenges and to allow the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue, considering the absence of several senator-judges.
"A mistrial? That’s incorrect. First of all, Senator Escudero’s ruling can be appealed to the impeachment court—to the 24 senators, or however many there are—who constitute that court. That’s why his ruling is not set in stone," the former senator said.
"In fact, he acknowledges that an appeal can be made to the Supreme Court en banc; therefore, the claim of a mistrial is baseless," he added.
