MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court may have to cast two separate votes before the final verdict in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, as senator-judges prepare to resolve a contentious question over how many votes are required for conviction.
The dispute centers on the interpretation of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that conviction in an impeachment case requires the votes of two-thirds of all members of the Senate. With a 24-member Senate, the impeachment court previously ruled that 16 votes are required to convict.
But the issue has resurfaced because four senators are currently unable to participate normally in the proceedings, prompting arguments that the voting base should instead reflect the number of active senator-judges.
Under one proposal, the threshold could fall to 13 votes if 20 senators are considered the active membership of the impeachment court. The Senate impeachment court is scheduled to tackle the issue on September 23.
Why two votes could become necessary
The first vote would not determine whether Duterte is guilty or innocent.
Instead, senator-judges would first decide whether to overturn Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s July 6 ruling, which established the 16-vote requirement.
The latest clarification from impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol says 11 votes, rather than 10, would be required to overturn that ruling if all 20 active senator-judges participate. If the motion succeeds, the conviction threshold could be recalculated based on the active roster.
Only after that issue is settled would the Senate proceed to the eventual substantive vote on the impeachment charges themselves.
That means the threshold dispute could effectively create an additional high-stakes vote before the Senate reaches its final judgment on Duterte’s impeachment.
Why the 16-vote rule is being challenged
Escudero’s original ruling interpreted the constitutional phrase “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate” as referring to the entire 24-member Senate, rather than only those currently participating in the impeachment proceedings.
Supporters of retaining the 16-vote threshold argue that senators remain members of the Senate even when they are absent, detained or otherwise unable to participate.
Those seeking a lower threshold contend that maintaining a 16-vote requirement while several senator-judges cannot participate could effectively make conviction more difficult than the Constitution intended.
The disagreement has also raised a broader constitutional question: Should the Senate impeachment court itself settle the meaning of “all members of the Senate,” or should the Supreme Court ultimately interpret the provision? Critics of the Senate deciding the matter have raised the latter possibility.
Four legal experts to weigh in
Before the senator-judges vote on the threshold, the impeachment court is scheduled to hear from four retired Supreme Court justices serving as amici curiae, or “friends of the court,” on September 16.
They are former Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno and Hilario Davide Jr., and former Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna. Davide and Azcuna were members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution.
Their legal views could become particularly significant because the dispute involves not simply parliamentary procedure, but the constitutional meaning of the Senate’s impeachment power.
The numbers that could decide Duterte’s fate
For now, 16 votes remains the established conviction threshold under Escudero’s July 6 ruling.
But if the Senate overturns that ruling and adopts a 20-member voting base, the number could fall to 13.
The latest clarification also means the threshold challenge itself requires 11 affirmative votes if all 20 active senator-judges participate.
The distinction is crucial: the September 23 vote is about the rules for conviction, not yet the final verdict on Duterte’s impeachment.
The Senate’s eventual decision on the impeachment charges will determine whether Vice President Sara Duterte is convicted or acquitted, making the seemingly technical dispute over vote counting one of the most consequential procedural battles of the trial.
With the Senate now preparing for a decisive vote on the threshold, the question is no longer simply how Duterte’s impeachment case will be decided — but which number of senators will ultimately determine what “two-thirds” means.
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