MANILA — The Supreme Court has dismissed three separate petitions challenging the Senate impeachment court’s interpretation of the two-thirds voting requirement for the conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte, citing procedural grounds.
In a briefer issued Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Supreme Court said the petitions filed separately by former Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, Berteni Cataluña Causing and lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. were dismissed due to issues that included lack of legal standing and prematurity.
The petitions questioned the impeachment court’s Sept. 23 ruling interpreting the constitutional phrase “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.” Under the ruling, the voting base consists of senators who are legally and factually capable of participating in the proceedings when the final vote is taken, rather than automatically using all 24 Senate seats as the denominator.
The impeachment court adopted the interpretation by a 13-1 vote, with six senator-judges not participating. It overturned an earlier ruling by Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero that required 16 votes for conviction based on the full 24-member Senate.
The petitioners argued that the new interpretation was inconsistent with Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution, which states that no person may be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all Senate members.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal was based on procedural grounds and did not resolve the merits of the competing interpretations of the constitutional provision. The Sept. 23 impeachment court ruling therefore remains in effect as the trial proceeds.
