THE Senate majority bloc will hold a caucus next week to decide the voting threshold for the conviction or acquittal of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Friday.
Gatchalian said in an interview the bloc’s decision will determine whether the impeachment court will retain its earlier ruling requiring 16 votes to convict or acquit Duterte or adopt another interpretation of the constitutional two-thirds requirement.
Under the Constitution’s Article XI, Section 3(6), no person shall be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.
The provision has triggered a debate over whether the required votes should be fixed at 16, representing two-thirds of the 24-member chamber, or whether the threshold could vary depending on the number of senators participating in the vote.
The minority bloc maintains that the ruling of the presiding officer, Sen. Francis Escudero, requiring a two-thirds vote, must be implemented.
The minority’s position effectively supports the retention of the 16-vote requirement for conviction.
The issue was further examined during the impeachment court’s Sept. 16 hearing, when four retired Supreme Court justices appeared as amici curiae, or friends of the court, to provide legal guidance on the voting threshold.
Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said the Senate, rather than the Supreme Court, should determine the applicable threshold. Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno described the issue as a political question involving the Senate’s internal rules.
Retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, meanwhile, argued that the constitutional phrase “all the members” should be applied in determining the required vote, while retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. submitted a memorandum to the court.
The divergent views have left the Senate with the task of settling the interpretation before the conviction vote.
Impeachment court spokesman Regie Tongol earlier said that 11 senators are enough to amend the court’s previous 16-vote threshold ruling. He said the number of votes needed to amend a ruling is a separate procedural question from the votes required to convict Duterte.
The trial is expected to reach a verdict in December, although the precise date of the vote remains subject to the court’s schedule and the resolution of pending procedural matters.
The threshold issue could become decisive in determining whether the Senate can secure the constitutionally required votes for conviction.
In a related development, House prosecutor Terry Ridon has filed his answer to the impeachment court’s show-cause order over a possible violation of the sub judice rule.
In the pleading shared on Friday, Ridon maintained that his statements were made in the course of his work as a member of the House prosecution panel and intended to keep the public informed about the progress of the impeachment proceedings.
He distinguished between reporting what happened during the proceedings, explaining procedural developments and the prosecution’s presentation, and commenting on matters reserved for the court.
Ridon also denied any intention to prejudge the case or influence the senator-judges.
The prosecutor acknowledged the court’s authority to determine the limits of public discussion on the case. He said he would take guidance from the show-cause order and comply with the standards set by the court in his future public statements.
Questions involving the admissibility, relevance, credibility and weight of evidence, as well as the merits of the impeachment case, belong to the impeachment court, Ridon said.
