The bar to remove Vice President Sara Duterte could be shifting. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said some senator-judges now want to revisit the 16-vote threshold needed to convict her in the impeachment trial, a direct challenge to the ruling that has anchored the proceedings since July.
What Zubiri said
In a press conference Thursday, Zubiri said some of his colleagues have questioned the threshold because senator-judges who sat when the ruling was made can no longer attend the trial. “There were some colleagues who would like to revisit the threshold,” he said, pointing to senators now “in jail” and one “a fugitive at-large.” The Manila Times carried the same remarks, with Zubiri saying the issue “may come up sooner or later.”
Zubiri said the cleanest way to settle the question is “to debate about it and seek a ruling from the presiding officer.” The impeachment court’s spokesperson, Atty. Regie Tongol, has called the 16-vote requirement “set in stone” unless it is raised before the Supreme Court.
Who cannot sit as a senator-judge
Underpinning the push is an attendance problem: four senator-judges are effectively out of the picture, which changes the practical majority a conviction would need to draw. Here is the lineup per GMA News and The Manila Times:
| Senator-judge | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Jinggoy Estrada | Detained | Facing plunder charges |
| Rodante Marcoleta | Detained | Facing plunder charges |
| Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa | In hiding | ICC arrest warrant over the drug war |
| Loren Legarda | Medical leave | Treatment for a serious lung illness |
The constitutional math behind 16
The 1987 Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate to convict in an impeachment trial. With 24 senators, Presiding Officer Francis Escudero ruled on July 6 that a literal reading puts that at 16 affirmative votes, citing a Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that counted 16 votes as valid two-thirds concurrence even when only 23 senators were then in office.
That reading is not the only one in play. A rival argument holds the threshold should instead track how many senator-judges actually participate, which is exactly why a lower number becomes plausible as the trial keeps losing attendees. The same 15-versus-16 confusion surfaced during the impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada, when fewer than 24 senators were sitting.
How a lower bar could be decided
Because the threshold was set by a ruling rather than by statute, changing it also runs through the presiding officer. Zubiri said the question will “be answered soon enough by the presiding officer,” and any senator can raise it on the floor.
ASTIG.PH has followed the numbers fight from the start. The House prosecution earlier argued that the impeachment court decides the threshold, not the Constitution, even as some senator-judges pushed for a literal reading.
Where the trial stands
Two months in, the prosecution is winding down its presentation over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds while Duterte led the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. House prosecution spokesman Rep. Terry Ridon said a submission could come within two weeks once the presentation concludes, while Rep. Zia Adiong accused Duterte supporters of living in an “echo chamber.”
The proceedings have moved quickly enough that keeping up is its own task; here is a primer on one lawyer now grilling witnesses for anyone following along.
Nothing has changed yet: 16 votes is still the operative rule, and a revisit needs a fresh ruling from the presiding officer. Watch whether any senator formally raises the question in the coming sessions, and whether Escudero moves the number or keeps it anchored at two-thirds of all 24 members.
