By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP-LABAN) has rejected proposals to lower the 16-vote requirement for convicting an impeached official in the Senate, warning that doing so would run against the Constitution.
The party, led by acting Davao City Mayor and president Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, issued the statement Wednesday as the Senate impeachment court continued proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The issue surfaced during the 23rd day of the trial, after senators considered whether the required number of votes could be adjusted because four of the chamber’s 24 members are not participating in the proceedings.
Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained in connection with separate plunder cases. Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is also absent amid an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court, while Senator Loren Legarda has been missing from the trial for several weeks as she receives treatment overseas for a lung condition.
PDP-LABAN national spokesman and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said the party was alarmed by any effort to alter the constitutional requirement.
Topacio maintained that the Constitution requires 16 votes from all members of the Senate to convict an impeachable official and argued that the standard should not be reduced because of the current composition of the impeachment court.
He said the threshold was established through the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission and is supported by existing jurisprudence.
According to Topacio, the 16-vote requirement serves as a safeguard against political manipulation when the Senate exercises its authority as an impeachment court.
“The Constitution is a sacred document that should be placed above the swirling winds of political expediency,” Topacio said, arguing that the constitutional threshold was specifically intended to protect the impeachment process from political interference.
He also accused the administration of seeking to lower the requirement amid the ongoing proceedings against the vice president, describing the move as an effort to prevent what he characterized as an expected acquittal.
The dispute over the voting threshold comes as the Senate continues to hear the impeachment case against Sara Duterte, with the question of whether the existing constitutional requirement can be altered now emerging as a significant issue in the proceedings.
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, will ultimately determine whether the vice president should be convicted or acquitted based on the case presented before it.
ia/xf
