Impeachment court denies claims Senator Escudero influencing senator-judges in VP Duterte trial

Impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol on Wednesday dismissed allegations that Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is attempting to influence senator-judges to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a virtual interview with Senate reporters, Tongol labeled the claims "preposterous," emphasizing that Escudero remains fully occupied with analyzing the case details and overseeing court proceedings.

"That is totally untrue," Tongol said. "I asked the presiding officer about it, and he just laughed it off. He said, ‘Really, you’re asking me that?’ So it is completely untrue that he is making such moves."

Tongol added that Escudero’s time is thoroughly taken up by reviewing witness testimonies, studying voluminous documentation, and issuing court resolutions.

At the start of the impeachment trial on July 6, Escudero ruled that at least 16 affirmative votes from the 24-member Senate are required to convict the Vice President. He grounded the ruling on the Constitution, which mandates a two-thirds concurrence of all Senate members for conviction.

Tongol noted that attempting to lobby senator-judges for votes at this stage would be entirely premature given that the trial is far from over.

"It was so preposterous for me to even raise it with him," Tongol said. "I think that’s what he was thinking as well—that such an issue is logically and practically not feasible at this point, and that a sensible politician would not do it this early in the trial."

He added that he does not expect Escudero to engage in any vote-influencing efforts even as the trial approaches its final stages.

Addressing queries on the voting rules, Tongol maintained that the 16-vote requirement remains "set in stone" unless successfully challenged before the Supreme Court.

"That will not be revisited unless someone goes to the Supreme Court and alleges grave abuse of discretion resulting in a lack or excess of jurisdiction," Tongol stated. "So as of the moment, that has not happened. It is set in stone for the meantime, unless overturned by the Supreme Court."

Tongol warned that altering the voting threshold mid-trial would present a "dangerous proposal" and violate fundamental principles of due process.

"Under our due process clauses, that is not allowed. It’s not as if we’re just playing a game here where, for the convenience of the parties, you change the rules in the middle of the trial," he said. "The impeachment court is not acting for the convenience of either the prosecution or the defense. It is acting to uphold the due process requirements under the law."

The clarification comes in response to remarks from House prosecution panel spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr., who suggested it might be "reasonable" to revisit the voting threshold due to absences among senator-judges during trial proceedings. On Monday—the 16th day of the trial—only 13 of the 24 senator-judges answered the roll call, with several members arriving late due to severe weather conditions.