The House prosecution panel and Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team are set to present oral arguments on the voting threshold required to convict an impeached official as the impeachment trial continues on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
House prosecutor Rep. Leila de Lima represents the Prosecution, while the Defense team has yet to announce its representative.
Each counsel is given 15 minutes to present their arguments, followed by questions from senator-judges before they vote on whether to sustain or overturn the 16-vote threshold.
A simple majority of senator-judges present and voting is required to decide the matter.
No roll call at start of 29th impeachment trial day
Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero deferred the roll call at the opening of the 29th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday.
Escudero said the attendance check would be conducted later once the senator-judges are present.
The roll call may take place during the oral arguments.
Poa to represent defense in impeachment oral arguments
Atty. Michael Poa will represent Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team during the oral arguments.
Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison confirmed Poa’s role before the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday.
The court will hear arguments from both the prosecution and defense panels regarding the disputed voting threshold.
Diokno to represent prosecution in impeachment oral arguments
House prosecutor Chel Diokno will represent the prosecution panel during the oral arguments on the 29th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro announced that Diokno will replace Rep. Leila de Lima, who is attending to an important and urgent concern.
Sison, Diokno clash over presumption of innocence in impeachment trial
Tension arose between defense lead counsel Sheila Sison and House prosecutor Chel Diokno during the opening of the 29th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Diokno cautioned against suggesting that the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt applies to impeachment proceedings, saying it could mislead the public.
Sison maintained that the constitutional presumption of innocence remains non-debatable, warning that claiming otherwise is “dangerous to convey to the general public at sa lahat ng mag-aaral ng batas.”
Escudero retains ‘respondent’ label for VP Duterte
Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero retained the use of “respondent” to refer to Vice President Sara Duterte after the prosecution sought to strike the defense’s use of “respondent-accused” from the record.
In his ruling, Escudero said impeachment proceedings are sui generis, with characteristics similar to both administrative and criminal proceedings.
Escudero therefore allowed the term “respondent” to remain in the record of the impeachment trial.
Diokno calls fixed 24-vote denominator ‘absurd’
House prosecutor Chel Diokno questioned the use of a fixed 24-member denominator for determining the voting threshold in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Diokno argued that senators who are unable to participate in the proceedings cannot hear evidence, deliberate, or vote, yet a fixed denominator would still require 16 votes for conviction.
“Absurd po ito,” Diokno said, adding that the constitutional two-thirds requirement should not depend on senators who are incapable of acting as judges.
Poa: ‘When the law is clear, there’s no room for interpretation’
Defense lawyer Michael Poa reiterated the defense’s position that 16 votes should be required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in the impeachment trial.
Poa cited the Supreme Court’s principle that “when the law is clear, there’s no room for interpretation. There’s only room for application.”
He said the issue before the Senate impeachment court is straightforward, asking how many votes are needed for conviction and answering, “The answer of the defense is straightforward and simple, 16.”
