Key House officials involved in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte have brushed off warnings from her defense team that adjusting the Senate conviction vote threshold would incentivize the administration to target opposing senator-judges.
House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers, alongside Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., dismissed concerns raised by Duterte’s defense spokesperson, Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., characterizing his scenario as purely hypothetical.
Panelo had cautioned against removing absent or unable senators from the calculation denominator, contending that doing so could encourage those in power to politically target members of the Senate expected to vote against conviction.
“If the denominator, this 16, can be lowered, you are inviting those in power, the government, to target those senators who they expect will not vote in favor of what they want,” Panelo stated Wednesday.
Rejecting the argument, Barbers insisted that criminal proceedings concerning individual lawmakers must be weighed independently on their own merits and supporting evidence, rather than treated as a coordinated plot to influence the trial’s outcome.
“Hindi naman porke sinabi ni Atty. Panelo ’yan, it doesn’t necessarily mean that is the correct opinion. Gaya ng sinabi ni Cong. Benny, speculative,” Barbers said. He added that the administration should not be reflexively blamed for existing cases against senator-judges when backed by genuine evidence.
“So all these things are not fabricated. So parang sinisisi pa ’yung gobyerno na kaya merong mga kasong ganito, eh dahil inimbento against you,” Barbers added, emphasizing that accused senators must address their charges via proper judicial channels. “Magpaliwanag kayo, harapin ’yung kaso.”
Abante echoed those sentiments, stressing that fear of hypothetical political overreach should not impede the Senate impeachment court from addressing core constitutional questions regarding trial math.
“’Yung binanggit ni Atty. Panelo would be more speculative than talagang totoo,” Abante remarked, adding that the matter ultimately centers on principles of equity. “Why don’t we give the right for the senator-judges to be able to change the threshold when it is necessary. Ang pinag-uusapan po dito ’yung fairness saka justice.”
The debate follows a ruling by Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero establishing that 16 votes, representing two-thirds of the full 24-member chamber, are necessary to convict Duterte.
While former Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna maintained that all sitting senators must remain in the baseline denominator, former Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno, and Hilario Davide Jr., serving as amici curiae, suggested the required figure could adjust depending on which members are legally qualified to vote.
Panelo aligned with Azcuna’s view, warning that altering the calculation risks undermining key constitutional protections. The House prosecution and Duterte’s defense team are set to formally debate the threshold rules on September 23, with Escudero’s 16-vote standard remaining active in the interim.