Senator Escudero welcomes SC challenge to 16-vote conviction ruling in Duterte impeachment

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero on Sunday said he has no objection to anyone questioning before the Supreme Court his ruling requiring at least 16 affirmative votes from senator-judges to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial.

Escudero made the remarks during a podcast on his YouTube channel, saying the issue is now a justiciable controversy that may be elevated to the high court.

"Ito ang umiiral pong desisyon ng Korte Suprema, sang-ayon man po tayo o hindi," Escudero said.

"Kaya nga sinabi ko, kung sinuman ang hindi sang-ayon sa posisyong ito, hindi lamang ng presiding officer kundi pati na rin ng impeachment court—dahil wala namang umapela o naghanap ng rekonsiderasyon sa aking pasya at sinabi, may pagkakataon silang iakyat ito sa Korte Suprema dahil justiciable controversy na ito," he added.

Escudero noted that while not all senator-judges agreed with the 16-vote threshold, some of his colleagues shared the same interpretation after he discussed the matter with them.

The issue surfaced on the opening day of Duterte's impeachment trial on July 6 when Escudero ruled that conviction requires the affirmative vote of at least 16 of the Senate's 24 members, in accordance with the 1987 Constitution.

The Senate currently has fewer active members following the detention of Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta on non-bailable charges, as well as the prolonged absence of Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who is facing arrest by the International Criminal Court.

Escudero said his position was based on the Supreme Court's ruling in Bayan v. Zamora, which held that constitutional voting requirements should be computed based on the Senate's full membership rather than the number of sitting or active senators.

"'Yung kaso sa Bayan v. Zamora, klaro't maliwanag na 23 lamang ang senador dahil si dating senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ay nahalal bilang Vice President noong 1998, so klarong 23 lang [ang senador]," Escudero said.

"Pero ang sinabi ng Korte Suprema, sa pagratipika lang ng isang tratado ang bilang na dapat pa ring sundin ay 24, hindi magiging 23," he added.