Panelo Warns Senators of Legal Challenge Over Impeachment Vote Threshold

MANILA, Philippines — Senators acting as judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte may face legal challenges, including criminal cases, if they proceed with changing the two-thirds voting requirement for her conviction, according to former presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo. In an interview with The STAR’s “Truth on the Line” yesterday, Panelo rejected the position of retired chief justices Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban, and Reynato Puno that the 16-vote threshold is not fixed. He said the impeachment court cannot alter the Constitution through its internal rules. Only retired Supreme Court associate justice Adolfo Azcuna took the contrary position that all 24 senators should be allowed to vote on whether to convict or acquit Duterte. “I disagree with the three of them, with due respect. The impeachment court absolutely has no power to tinker with the Constitution. It cannot change the language of the Constitution through the impeachment court,” Panelo said. The four former justices were invited as amici curiae, or friends of the court by the Senate on Wednesday to help resolve a dispute over the correct number of votes required to convict or acquit the Vice President. The 1987 Constitution provides that no person shall be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate. Presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero previously ruled that 16 votes are required for her conviction. Panelo said the Senate may adopt its own rules but these cannot prevail over the constitutional requirement. “The internal rules are there for them to make and implement. But you cannot go over and beyond the language of the Constitution,” he said. Panelo argued that the two-thirds fraction can effectively change if the number of senators is reduced by death, resignation or expulsion, but the two-thirds requirement itself cannot be lowered by an impeachment court ruling. “What is not flexible is the two-thirds. That is the guarantee of the framers that an impeachable officer cannot simply be removed,” he said. He also rejected the argument that the impeachment court could use a simple majority rule to change the threshold, saying this would amount to amending the Constitution outside the processes provided for by the Charter. “How do you change the threshold? One way is when senators die, are expelled or resign. The other way is to call a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly, or through a people’s initiative. Outside of that, it is illegal,” Panelo said. He also raised the possibility of criminal liability for senator-judges who would knowingly render what he considers an unjust judgment, citing Article 204 of the Revised Penal Code. “If they convict her after knowingly changing the threshold, there is a problem because that would be an unjust judgment,” Panelo said. “You are treading on dangerous grounds. Do not force the issue. Continue with the impeachment, but follow the two-thirds of the 24,” he said. He added that technology is available that could enable senators to vote even if they are not physically present at the trial. “They can vote wherever they are. They can participate by reading the transcripts,” he said. Meanwhile, Duterte spokesman Paolo Panelo yesterday refuted an online news report attributing the ownership of Gencorp Industries Inc. to the Vice President. “Gencorp is not her company. It is owned by business people who have been in the food industry since the 1990s,” Panelo said in a statement. He called the report “misleading and irresponsible.” — Daphne Galvez, Evelyn Macairan