Senate impeachment court rejects Alan Peter Cayetano's appeal to defer action on voting threshold
The Senate impeachment court has voted to reject Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's plea to defer action on the voting threshold needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
During the Sept. 23 trial, senator-judges voted 13-6-1 on Cayetano's point of order to suspend the scheduled vote on the threshold. This means the impeachment court will still vote on determining the number needed for conviction.
Among those who were in favor of Cayetano's plea were senator-judges Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Camille Villar, Robin Padilla, and Bong Go.
Cayetano has said that if the impeachment court votes on determining the threshold, he was not going to participate.
"If we're going to vote on this issue, we're not going to participate because we don't think it's a matter that we can vote on. You don't vote on what's right or wrong. No, so we don't think it's a matter of interpretation," the minority leader said.
On July 6, Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero said that the threshold needed to convict is 16, or two-thirds of the 24 members of the Senate. However, Article XI Section 3 (6) of the 1987 Constitution did not specify a number, only stating that the voting threshold is two-thirds of all members of the upper chamber.
Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo, on Sept. 8, sought clarity on the voting threshold, as four senator-judges were absent from proceedings.
Sen. Loren Legarda is abroad on medical leave, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained over plunder charges, and Sen. Bato dela Rosa is missing following an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Amici curiae, or friends of the court consisting of retired Supreme Court justices, shared their positions on the voting threshold, with three of four providing the impeachment court a leg to stand on in case they want to exclude non-participating senators from casting their vote for or against a conviction.
