The House prosecution panel on Thursday, September 24, clarified that the conviction threshold in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial has not been lowered, maintaining that the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds vote remains in effect.
The clarification came amid public confusion over the Senate impeachment court’s interpretation of which members should be included in determining the required number of votes for conviction.
House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro explained that the Senate impeachment court’s recent ruling concerns the computation’s denominator, rather than any reduction in the constitutionally mandated fraction.
“Hindi po ibinaba ang threshold. Two-thirds remains two-thirds,” Luistro said during the panel’s press conference.
She clarified that the impeachment court provided guidance on the phrase “all members of the Senate,” ruling that the denominator should include only those who are legally and factually present or qualified to participate at the time of voting.
According to Luistro, this interpretation excludes senators who are detained, suspended, in hiding while facing arrest, physically or medically incapacitated, or otherwise beyond the Senate’s coercive power.
However, she emphasized that these qualifications will be determined at the time senator-judges cast their votes, rather than being permanently established beforehand.
“Ibig sabihin, yung legal at factual qualification ng mga members ng impeachment court will be decided upon at the time they cast their vote,” Luistro said.
The clarification follows the impeachment court’s September 23 ruling that overturned the earlier automatic requirement of 16 votes, equivalent to two-thirds of the full 24-member Senate.
The court instead ruled that the two-thirds requirement would be computed based on senator-judges who remain legally and factually capable of participating when the final vote is taken.
