THE Senate impeachment court has lowered the voting threshold to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in the trial.
A total of 13 senator-judges, including Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sherwin Gatchalian, Vicente Sotto III, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros, Mark Villar, Lito Lapid, Francis Pangilinan, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, voted in favor of the motion to lower the conviction threshold during the resumption of the proceedings on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero voted against the motion, while senator-judges Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Christopher “Bong” Go, Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos and Camille Villar refused to vote.
Noting his July 6 position that all 24 senators should count, despite not being physically present during the trial, Escudero said he personally disagreed with the court’s decision.
However, he said he would implement the “judgment of the impeachment court.”
Escudero declared that the court’s new controlling interpretation of the voting threshold will include only the senator-judges who are “legally and factually capable” of participating in the impeachment proceedings.
Senators who are detained, suspended or otherwise legally restrained from exercising their Senate functions; whose whereabouts are unknown and who are being sought by authorities; those suffering from physical and medical incapacity; those beyond the coercive processes of the Senate; and others similarly situated are excluded from the voting.
Out of the 24 senators, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is in hiding over charges he is facing before the International Criminal Court, while Senator Loren Legarda is out of the country on extended medical leave.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta is also behind bars over complaints in relation to alleged undeclared P75 million worth of election donations during the 2025 election period, while Senator Jinggoy Estrada is also detained at the Quezon City Jail over his alleged involvement in irregularities in flood control projects.
The votes of two-thirds of the legally and factually capable senators at the time of voting are needed to convict Duterte.
The ruling came after Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo challenged the July 6 interpretation of Escudero that two-thirds of all members of the Senate, including those who are not physically present during the trial, is required under the Constitution to convict Duterte.
Tulfo insisted that members of the Senate who are not legally or factually participating should not remain part of the denominator.
Last week, the impeachment court invited and heard the views of former Supreme Court justices and constitutional experts on the matter.
Senator-judge Alan Cayetano argued that the matter should be brought to the Supreme Court instead of the impeachment court interpreting the provisions of the Constitution.
Cayetano warned that changing the denominator of the voting threshold may have consequences for the validity of the trial, characterizing the potential effect as comparable to a “mistrial.”
Thirteen senator-judges voted in favor of Tulfo’s motion for the impeachment court to vote on lowering the voting threshold, while six voted against it.
Oral arguments
During the oral arguments between the prosecution and the defense, House prosecutor and Akbayan party-list representative Chel Diokno pointed to the functions of an impeachment judge, such as taking the required oath, hearing and examining evidence, and deliberating and ultimately rendering judgment.
“A situation na may senador na hindi nakapag-oath for whatever reason o kaya illegally prevented from performing a senator's job…lahat nakakulong at suspended sa katungkulan dahil sa utos ng batas. Each of them cannot hear the evidence, deliberate, and vote. Their inability to participate is beyond dispute. And yet, if the denominator is fixed at 24, conviction would always require 16 votes. Absurd po ito,” Diokno said.
“Yes, the Constitution deliberately makes conviction harder by imposing the two-thirds requirement. But making it harder is not the same as making it depend on senators who are not judges or who are incapable of acting as judges. That would be tantamount to an acquittal by default, a failure to arrive at the threshold number caused not by the judgment of the incapacitated senators, but by their mere inclusion in the denominator,” he added.
Defense counsel Michael Poa questioned why the impeachment court had to reopen a matter that had long been settled, noting that no senator-judge objected, sought reconsideration or appealed when the presiding officer made a ruling on July 6.
Poa said reopening the threshold issue in the middle of the trial is a violation of Duterte’s constitutionally protected right to due process.
He also pointed out that absence, non-participation and detention do not create Senate vacancies, which may only arise from circumstances of death, resignation, disqualification or expulsion.
Therefore, he maintained that the denominator for the threshold should remain unchanged. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)