Panelo: Excluding absent senators from impeachment vote violates Constitution

The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday asserted that the Senate impeachment court violated the Constitution by voting to base the required two-thirds vote for conviction on the number of senators capable of "legally and factually participating in the impeachment proceedings." "This is a clear violation of our Constitution because the Constitution states two-thirds of all members of the Senate are needed for conviction. They changed this yesterday," said Atty. Paolo Panelo during an interview. He further stated that this decision constitutes "grave abuse of discretion," emphasizing that while the impeachment court is "sui generis (a class of its own), it should still follow due process and the Constitution." Meanwhile, House prosecutor Terry Ridon, who is part of the impeachment team, stated that those who disagree with the new threshold are free to bring the issue to the Supreme Court. "If they think they have a case, they are free to go to the Supreme Court. We will wait for that petition and whatever the Supreme Court decides, we will abide by that," Ridon said. He also responded to critics with a taunt, saying, "Sa mga nagsasabi po na this is manipulated at kung ano ano pa ‘yung mga sinasabi nila, may tissue rito, punasan ninyo ang luha ninyo" (For those saying this is manipulated and other things they are saying, there's tissue here, wipe your tears). The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday voted to base the two-thirds vote to convict Duterte on the number of senators who are capable of "legally and factually participating in the impeachment proceedings." This means absent senators will be excluded from the vote count. Panelo could not definitively say whether the Vice President's camp would elevate the issue to the Supreme Court. Article 11, Section 6 of the Philippine Constitution states that "the Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment." The same provision also states that "No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate," though it does not specify a precise number for what constitutes two-thirds.