Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito asserted that the Supreme Court is the appropriate authority to determine whether the voting threshold required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial should be lowered.
Ejercito highlighted the expertise of the High Tribunal on constitutional matters, while noting that the Senate sitting as an impeachment court would ultimately need to weigh its options if left to handle the issue.
“Siguro kung para sigurado, mas maganda kung Supreme Court. Siyempre, mas eksperto sila diyan. Pero kung pag-uusapan rin lang sa impeachment court, then we will just have to decide and weigh things,” Ejercito told reporters.
The lawmaker admitted that he has not given significant thought to reducing the conviction threshold, framing it strictly as a legal matter best suited for judicial determination.
“Ang pinag-uusapan ay actually, hindi ko iniisip eh kasi iniisip ko it will be a decision, ano yun, a legal issue, legal matter eh. So akala ko Supreme Court ang dapat mag-decide diyan,” he said.
When asked about his stance on maintaining the current 16-vote requirement for conviction, Ejercito indicated that members of the Senate would need to deliberate further due to the absence of several colleagues.
“Isipan natin. Pag-uusapan natin. We have to weigh things, kasi nga may mga kasama tayo wala dito. So ano ba talaga ang dapat, kung ano yung talagang dapat,” he said.
He clarified that the potential reduction of the voting threshold has not been formally raised during their internal caucus meetings.
“Hindi pa formally, not in the caucus. Ang napag-usapan lang sa caucus is the scheduling because of the upcoming budget hearings, because of the impeachment and because of the plenary. So talagang yun ang napag-usapan namin sa huling caucus. Hindi namin napag-usapan yung threshold,” Ejercito added.
The discussion surrounding the threshold stems from the absence of four senators in the impeachment proceedings: Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is in hiding due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC); Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, who are detained on separate plunder charges; and Senator Loren Legarda, who is in Europe receiving medical treatment for a lung condition.