MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday hears oral arguments from the prosecution and the defense on the threshold needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senate Presiding Officer Francis Escudero said that each party would be given 15 minutes, then each senator-judge will also be given time to ask questions before the court proceeded to vote on the matter.
The House of Representatives' lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro informed the Senate impeachment court that Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima would deliver the oral arguments for the prosecution.
For the defense, lawyer Sheila Sison said they would disclose on Wednesday who would be speaking on their behalf.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo appealed Escudero’s ruling handed down on Day 1 of the trial last July 6 that 16 votes were required to convict the vice president.
“The present reality, however, is that some of our members are beyond the coercive power or jurisdiction of the Senate. One is on medical leave abroad where the date of her return is still unknown. The other is in hiding. Two are under the custody of the Sandiganbayan or the Bureau of Jail Management,” Tulfo has said.
“My question, Mr. Presiding Officer, is this, considering the changing calendar and expedited proceedings, if we were to cast our votes two or three months from now, or next month, or even tomorrow, who among our members can validly cast their votes in the final question?" he added.
Last Wednesday, the court heard retired Chief Justices Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban, and Reynato Puno, and former Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna present their opinions on the matter.
Three of the four took the view that the required number of votes to convict an impeachable official was not necessarily fixed, considering that the Constitution expressly stated a fraction, not 16, to refer to the senators qualified to vote.
Only Azcuna stuck to the “two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate” rule, saying only death, resignation, or expulsion can create a vacancy in the Senate, which event reduces the chamber’s membership on which the two-thirds vote would be computed.
Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution provides that an impeached official cannot be convicted “without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.”
The dispute centers on whether “all members” should mean all 24 senators regardless of their ability to participate, or only those legally able to take part in the impeachment proceedings and final vote.
Four senators are currently unable to attend the trial: Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is in hiding because he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court; Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, who are detained on the nonbailable charge of plunder before the Sandiganbayan; and Loren Legarda, who is abroad on an extended medical leave.
