Minority bloc to continue participation in VP Duterte impeachment trial, Cayetano denies boycott

The Senate minority bloc will continue to participate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday. "Wala naman kaming indication na hindi mag-aattend (There is no indication among us that we will not attend the impeachment trial). It’s our constitutional duty to be part of the impeachment court," Cayetano said. "At [ang] fairness ay napaka-importante. Kung tatanungin ninyo kung nagluluksa pa kami, siyempre, kasi we really feel that kung may reinterpretation doon, dapat ang Supreme Court. And we think apektado ang fairness pagka sa gitna ng trial. Having said that, there's a process. [And] so far, wala pa namang pag-uusap na hindi magpa-participate,” he added. (Fairness is very important. And if you will ask us if we are still mourning over it, of course we are, because we really feel that it should be the Supreme Court to interpret it. And we think fairness is affected if it is done in the middle of the trial. Having said that, there's a process , and there's no talk about us not participating.) For his part, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said he "has not heard of" the rumored boycott. “Well, wala naman akong naririnig na ganyan (I did not hear anything of that sort),” Gatchalian said in a chance interview. On Wednesday, the Senate impeachment court 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." Thirteen senator-judges, including minority member Mark Villar, voted in favor of the motion put forward by Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo, who sought reconsideration of the July 6 ruling after some senators became unavailable to participate in the impeachment trial. Six senator-judges, including Cayetano, did not participate in the voting. Article 11, Section 6 of the Constitution does not state a number and instead reads "No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.” At the same time, the said constitutional provision states that "The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment." Cayetano said Villar’s vote in favor the new basis of the threshold does not mean the latter is breaking away from the minority bloc. “We’re working, and there is no animosity among seven of us in the minority. Of course, we long na mabuo pa rin 'yung 11, but ‘yun nga, four of our colleagues are facing different challenges,” he said. (We want for all of us 11 to be complete.) “Pero walang napag-uusapan na, anong next, anong boycott, anong ganyan, o anong sinabi 'yung defense,” Cayetano added. (There are no talks of what's next, if there will be a boycott, or what did the defense say.) —with Sandra Aguinaldo/AOL, GMA News