Sara Duterte Now Participating in Impeachment Trial 'With Caution'

Vice President Sara Duterte is now participating in her impeachment trial with caution after the Senate voted to lower the voting threshold for her conviction, her defense team said Wednesday. Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison made the manifestation on Day 29 of Duterte's impeachment trial, shortly after senator-judges voted 13-1-6 to set the conviction threshold at two-thirds of those who are legally allowed to participate in the proceedings. "Even as we understand that this tribunal will proceed as it deems fit, we nonetheless are constrained to place on record, na mula sa araw na ito, the respondent's participation or any participation that the respondent will have in this trial ay may tahasang pag-iingat or with ad cautelam," said Sison, referring to the Latin phrase which means "with caution." (Even as we understand that this tribunal will proceed as it deems fit, we nonetheless are constrained to place on record that from this day forward, the respondent's participation or any participation that the respondent will have in this trial will carry outright caution or with ad cautelam.) Sison stressed that the vice president is not trying to evade accountability amid the ongoing impeachment trial against her. "Let it be clear that the respondent does not shrink from accountability nor does she fear the outcome of this impeachment trial. She asks for nothing spectacular from this court. Only the most essential and basic guarantees due to every individual: fairness and impartiality," Sison said. With the new decision on the voting threshold, Duterte can be convicted with less than 16 votes as several senators are facing charges, remain in hiding, or remain on medical leave. The interpretation of the phrase "All members of the Senate"—referring to the base number to compute the two-thirds requirement—has been the subject of debate. Sison said Duterte has the right to pursue all legal remedies in the wake of the ruling. "She reserves every right to exhaust all legal remedies available sa ilalim ng ating batas at Konstitusyon na may pagtatangi sa esensya ng isang tunay na malayang, demokratikong institusyon. At karapatan ng bawat mamamayan na madinig sa isang hukuman na walang kinikilingan o kinakatakutan," she added. (She reserves every right to exhaust all legal remedies available under our law and Constitution, with due regard for the essence of a truly free, democratic institution. And it is the right of every citizen to be heard in an impartial court that fears no one.) Thirteen senators voted in favor of the motion put forward by Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo, who sought reconsideration of the July 6 ruling that the voting threshold is set at 16, or a fixed two-thirds computation of the complete 24-member Senate. Six minority senators, on the other hand, did not participate in the voting. In early September, the impeachment court invited retired Supreme Court Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno, and Hilario Davide Jr. and Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna as amici curiae or friends of the court to share their views on the matter. Panganiban, Puno, and Davide said that the voting threshold should be based on the number of senator-judges who actively participated in the impeachment trial. However, Azcuna, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, offered a different view that the two-thirds concurrence requirement should relate to the entire membership of the Senate; hence, a conviction by 16 senator-judges is needed. — VDV, GMA News