Spox: Prosecution not focused on lowering impeach conviction threshold

MANILA, Philippines — Prosecutors in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is not prioritizing efforts to lower the conviction vote threshold, its legal spokesman said on Wednesday.

In a media briefing, lawyer Benjamin Tolosa, Jr. said the prosecution team is focused on building a strong case against Duterte and not engaging in “vote counting,” but noted that asking to lower the conviction threshold is a legal remedy available to them.

“We’re really focused on just presenting solid evidence before the impeachment court,” he said. “Our focus is to establish an airtight case backed by overwhelming evidence, so that at the end of the day, no matter how this two-thirds threshold will be interpreted, we’ll secure the necessary vote.”

READ: Evidence and witnesses: How prosecution team gauge win

He said the prosecution panel has no “official legal position” yet on the vote count as it would be “premature” for it to bare their stand on the issue.  On Monday, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the impeachment court’s presiding officer, ruled that Duterte’s conviction needed at least 16 votes.

Chief impeachment prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro had said that the conviction threshold should be lowered if some senators were unable to participate in the proceedings, citing a 1949 Supreme Court ruling that defined a Senate majority based on members whose attendance can still be compelled as reference.

“In the realm of possibilities, that’s a remedy that’s available to us under the law and under the rules,” Tolosa said. “But as I’ve stated, we’re not discussing it at this moment.”

Under the 1987 Constitution, conviction in an impeachment trial requires the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the upper chamber. A full Senate membership of 24 translates to 16 votes.

The idea of lowering the numbers to convict Duterte emerged as dwindling membership in the 24-man upper chamber casts uncertainty over the availability of senators to serve as judges in her impeachment trial.

The Senate’s ranks have already shrunk, with Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in hiding amid fears of his arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada detained over a plunder case linked to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

Another senator, Rodante Marcoleta, was detained in connection with a possible plunder case stemming from his alleged failure to disclose P75 million in campaign donations. /mr