The Senate majority bloc has yet to discuss reports that Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero may preside over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.
“Wala pa naman kaming napag-uusapan na ganoon. Pag-uusapan pa lang ng grupo ’yan,” Gatchalian said in a Zoom press conference.
“Nothing has been discussed on that. The group has yet to talk about it,” he added.
For now, Gatchalian said he is set to preside over the impeachment proceedings in his capacity as acting Senate president.
“I signed the notice of the pre-trial, pinadala na ’yan. The next step will be that they will send pre-trial briefs… Tuloy-tuloy ang preparations,” he said.
“I signed the notice of pre-trial and it has already been sent to the concerned parties. The next step will be the submission of pre-trial briefs. Preparations are continuing,” he added.
Gatchalian said both Duterte’s camp and the House prosecution panel have until June 15 to submit their pre-trial briefs.
He said the impeachment trial is still scheduled to begin on July 6.
Gatchalian also said the Senate’s handling of quorum questions would be guided by the Avelino v. Cuenco ruling, the same basis used by the chamber in determining quorum during the June 3 session.
He said there were instances when only 12 senators were considered enough to constitute a quorum.
“There are eight times ang quorum ay 12 senators lang,” Gatchalian said.
Citing the Avelino case, he said the quorum denominator may be lowered when a senator is beyond the coercive reach of the Senate.
“In the Avelino case, sinabi na kung ang senator beyond the coercive reach ng Senate, puwedeng ibaba ang denominator. And there are times na binaba ang quorum, so puwedeng mag-constitute ng quorum ang 12,” he said.
Gatchalian, however, stressed that the vote required to convict the Vice President remains fixed under the Constitution and cannot be changed by the Senate leadership dispute or by attendance during trial.
He cited Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that no person may be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate.
“With the Senate’s membership fixed at 24, the conviction threshold is 16 votes, and it will remain 16 votes regardless of how many senators attend the trial, which bloc controls the chamber, or who presides over the impeachment court,” Gatchalian said.