Lowering Impeachment Conviction Threshold Won't Amend Constitution, Prosecutors Say

House prosecutors on Wednesday asserted that lowering the threshold of votes needed for conviction in an impeachment court, should it come to that, will not affect other thresholds involving the legislative function of the Senate and Congress. Prosecutor Chel Diokno explained that this is because impeachment proceedings specifically pertain to Article 11 of the Constitution, which deals with public accountability. He clarified during Senator Joel Villanueva's questioning that any decision by the impeachment court will not alter other constitutional provisions. Villanueva had inquired whether changing the denominator for impeachment conviction thresholds would impact other fractional thresholds required for legislative actions like approving bills, martial law requests, expulsions, or constitutional amendments. Diokno firmly stated, "Nothing would change in so far as those other provisions are concerned." Meanwhile, defense counsel Michael Poa addressed Villanueva's query regarding the defense's stance on 16 votes as the conviction threshold. Poa clarified that the defense argues not for a fixed number of 16, but for a fixed Senate membership as the base. "What we're saying it is fixed at the membership [of the Senate]. So if it is 24, it (base) should be 24," he stated. Poa further surmised that the framers of the Constitution might have used fractional language without specifying a number due to stylistic reasons, acknowledging the potential for congressional membership to fluctuate due to various factors like new districts, death, resignation, disqualification, permanent disability, or expulsion.