PDP-Laban: Lowering 16-vote threshold for conviction violates Constitution

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP)—led by its president, acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte—said Wednesday that the lowering the existing 16-vote threshold for a conviction in the Senate impeachment court would violate the Constitution. The party issued the statement a day after the possibility of lowering the threshold was raised during Day 23 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, sister of Sebastian, since four of the 24 Senators are not participating in the ongoing proceedings. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained on separate plunder charges, while Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is in hiding amid an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Senator Loren Legarda, meanwhile, has not been attending the trial for weeks now due to health concerns, specifically a lung problem that she is having treated overseas. "(PDP-LABAN) views with great alarm, the efforts of certain members of the Senate to once again bend the law to the breaking point, by attempting to tamper with the evident intent of the framers of the Constitution in setting a threshold of 16 votes of all the members of the Senate, in order to convict an impeachable officer, in order to stave off the acquittal of a Vice-President due to weak evidence and a less than competent prosecution panel," lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, PDP-Laban national spokesman, said in a statement. "The Constitution is a sacred document that should be placed above the swirling winds of political expediency. The yardstick of sixteen was specifically formulated to insulate the Senate, sitting as an Impeachment Court, from political manipulation and interference, such as what is happening now," Topacio added. Topacio said the 16-vote threshold is an "immovable standard" supported by debates in the Constitutional Commission and by ruling case law. "The present administration, with its evil plan of lowering the threshold, is showing its panic and desperation in the face of the impending defeat of its vile efforts to unseat and disqualify the clear choice of the people for Vice-President and for President in 2028," he said. — BM, GMA News