Manila: The Senate impeachment court has widened its legal review of the disputed conviction threshold in Vice President Sara Duterte's trial, agreeing to consider a position paper from San Beda University Graduate School of Law dean Rev. Fr. Ranhilio Aquino alongside the views of four former Supreme Court justices. Presiding officer Francis 'Chiz' Escudero announced Monday that the court had received Aquino's memorandum on the meaning of 'all the Members of the Senate' under Article XI, Section 3(6) of the Constitution.
According to Philippines News Agency, the court will consider the points raised by Father Aquino and will furnish the senator-judges as well as the parties with a copy of the same. Aquino, although not appointed as one of the court's amici curiae, submitted his memorandum amid ongoing discussions about the constitutional requirement of a fixed 16 votes for conviction when some senators cannot participate in the proceedings.
Escudero highlighted that a September 9 advisory allows the impeachment court, with prior leave and at its discretion, to receive position papers from non-parties with demonstrated expertise, including academics, legal scholars, and other qualified experts. However, the contents of Aquino's submitted memorandum were not disclosed in open court on Monday.
In July, Aquino publicly questioned whether the constitutional requirement should remain a fixed 16 votes, arguing that the constitutional formulation assumes the senators being counted heard the evidence and participated in deliberations. The threshold dispute stemmed from Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo's appeal, questioning whether senators unable to participate in the final vote should be included in the base for computing the required two-thirds vote.
Escudero previously ruled that conviction requires a 'hard 16,' or two-thirds of the full 24-member Senate. Tulfo has maintained that his appeal aims to clarify who constitutes 'all the Members of the Senate,' not merely to lower the number needed to convict.
The court is set to hear retired chief justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno, and retired associate justice Adolfo Azcuna in person on Wednesday. Retired chief justice Hilario Davide Jr., currently recuperating from a medical procedure, will instead submit a legal memorandum to be formally entered into the court record.
The prosecution and defense are scheduled to present oral arguments on the threshold issue on September 23 before senator-judges decide Tulfo's appeal.
