The impeachment court will need 11 votes to overturn the ruling on the number of votes required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, after Presiding Officer and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero was confirmed to be eligible to participate in the vote.
Impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol clarified the matter Saturday, September 12, after initially saying Escudero would inhibit from voting because the appeal challenges a ruling he issued.
“Pero nasabihan po ako ng ating presiding officer at saka po ni Clerk of Court na base sa kanilang pag-aaral ay boboto po rin po daw si Presiding Officer,” Tongol said in a radio interview.
Tongol had earlier said during a Friday media briefing that Escudero would not vote because his ruling already represented his position on the issue being appealed. This would have reduced the number of participating senator-judges and meant that 10 votes could overturn the decision.
A subsequent review of parliamentary rules, however, found that the presiding officer can vote when his participation is necessary to settle a matter before the chamber.
With four senators absent, 20 senator-judges are expected to participate in the vote. With Escudero included, the appeal will therefore require 11 votes to succeed.
“So, kunwari po, 20 po yung umattend po, so kailangan po hindi 10, kundi 11 po para ma-overturn po yung kanyang ruling,” Tongol explained.
The impeachment court is scheduled to resolve the issue on September 23 following an appeal filed by Senator Erwin Tulfo.
At the center of the dispute is whether the two-thirds vote required for conviction or acquittal should continue to be calculated based on all 24 members of the Senate even when some senator-judges are unable to participate in the proceedings.
Tulfo has asked the impeachment court to reconsider its earlier ruling maintaining the 24-member Senate as the basis for determining the required vote, regardless of how many senators are actually present or participating.
The 1987 Constitution provides that conviction in an impeachment trial requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate. The appeal seeks clarification on how “all members” should be applied when some senators cannot take part in the proceedings.
Before the impeachment court votes on the appeal, it will hear opinions from amici curiae, or “friends of the court,” on September 16. No trial proceedings will take place on that date.
Among those invited to provide their views are former Supreme Court Chief Justices Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno, as well as former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna. Davide and Azcuna were members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution.
Tongol further explained that a tie would leave Escudero’s original ruling standing because the appeal would not have obtained enough votes to overturn it.
Thus, if the vote ends at 10-10, for example, the appeal would fail to reach the required 11 votes and the existing ruling would remain in force.