Senator Marcoleta rules out seeking furlough to vote on VP Sara Duterte impeachment threshold

Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday said he would not request a temporary release from detention to participate in any potential Senate vote regarding the 16-vote conviction threshold in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

"No, I will not move for a furlough just to vote for the threshold," Marcoleta told reporters following his bail hearing before the Sandiganbayan Third Division.

A furlough allows a detained individual temporary release from custody.

The threshold debate gained traction due to the ongoing absence of four senator-judges—including Marcoleta—raising questions about whether the Senate sitting as an impeachment court should vote on maintaining or revising the current 16-vote requirement.

While Marcoleta expressed support for putting the threshold question to a vote, he maintained that the underlying constitutional mandate must remain untouched.

"It’s already in the Constitution," Marcoleta said. "Nobody has a right to change the Constitution."

The issue comes a day after the Senate impeachment court convened with four retired Supreme Court justices acting as amici curiae (friends of the court) to tackle the constitutional complexities of the 16-vote rule. During Wednesday’s hearing, three of the four retired justices posited that the minimum vote requirement to convict is not automatically fixed at 16.

-Paraluman News