Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno said the wording of the 1987 Constitution has led to different interpretations of the voting threshold for convicting an impeached official, noting that Article XI, Section 3(6) does not expressly state either a fixed number of votes or the word “present.”
Puno made the statement on Wednesday, September 16, during the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, where he appeared as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to provide his legal opinion on the disputed conviction threshold.
Responding to a question from Senator-judge Joel Villanueva, Puno acknowledged that the Constitution requires the “concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate,” but does not explicitly say “16” or “two-thirds of the members present.”
Villanueva pointed out that the provision specifically uses the phrase “all the members of the Senate,” unlike other constitutional provisions that expressly refer to members who are present or voting.
Puno agreed that if the Constitution had expressly specified a fixed number of 16 votes, there would be no dispute over the threshold.
“Kung yung Article XI, Section 3(6), ay ginamit na salita yung threshold 16 period. Wala na po tayong pag-uusapan. Malinaw na malinaw ’yon.”
He likewise said there would be no ambiguity if the Constitution had used the word “present.”
“Ganon din po kung ginamit yung salitang present, wala na rin po tayong pag-uusapan.”
Puno explained that because the Constitution did not use either formulation, different interpretations or “schools of thought” have emerged on how Article XI, Section 3(6) should be applied.
“Kaya dahil sa ganyan, nagkakaroon tayo ng iba't ibang interpretasyon at sinabi namin dito, yung iba't ibang schools of thought in interpreting Article XI, Section 3(6),” Puno said.
He stressed that both interpretations have constitutional bases, making it difficult to simply declare one view correct and the other wrong.
“Ang sabi ko nga ay yung dalawang schools of thought, meron namang pinagbabasihang Konstitusyon. Kaya mahirap sabihin na yung isang school of thought ay tama, yung isa ay mali. We just keep an open mind.”
The Senate impeachment court is hearing the opinions of Puno and fellow retired Supreme Court justices Artemio Panganiban and Adolf Azcuna, while former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. submitted his position through a legal memorandum. The amici curiae were asked to help clarify whether “all the members of the Senate” refers to the full 24-member Senate or only senators legally and physically capable of participating and voting in the impeachment proceedings.
