Vote threshold in impeachment trials open to abuse, warns ex-SC justice

MANILA, Philippines — A changeable vote threshold can be easily manipulated by ruling political factions, retired Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna warned yesterday, as he defended maintaining the required votes needed to convict an impeachable official at two-thirds of all 24 senators. Responding to questions submitted by Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense counsel and read to the court by presiding officer Francis Escudero, the 1987 Constitution framer explained that basing the two-thirds threshold solely on actual attendance invites dangerous abuse. “There is no guarantee. That’s the danger seen by the drafters of our Constitution. That’s why they made as basis or denominator the total membership of the Senate and Congress,” Azcuna said. Asked if lowering the threshold could encourage a ruling administration to jail opposing lawmakers or deny them bail to skew numbers, Azcuna answered in the affirmative. “There’s the danger of it getting abused by the president, not only the president, but even by members of the Senate, whoever controls the power of who can attend, who can prevent fellow members from attending… if you make the threshold dependent on actual attendance,” Azcuna said. Retired chief justice Reynato Puno warned that any deliberate plot by a political faction to engineer absences and alter the voting base would render the trial unconstitutional. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Bella Cariaso