MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Chiz Escudero as impeachment presiding officer affirmed that conviction takes 16 votes and no less, on the same day a third Duterte-allied senator was put beyond the chamber's reach.
Escudero settled the matter shortly after assuming the position of presiding officer — an election contested by the Cayetano-led minority bloc, perceived as being aligned with Vice President Sara Duterte.
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All these recent arrests and absences had fed debate on whether the conviction threshold should be re-computed against a shrunken Senate.
The Constitution states that conviction can only happen with the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate, Escudero said.
"With 24 members of the Senate, a literal interpretation of this means that conviction requires the affirmative vote of at least 16 senator-judges," he said.
Escudero cited a Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that counted 16 votes as valid two-thirds concurrence in a treaty even though only 23 senators were then in office. "We must abide by it," he said.
However, Escudero made it clear that "those who disagree" with his ruling have the right to go about it through a legal challenge.
“And should the Supreme Court… by virtue of its power of judicial review, render a different ruling on this question, other than what the chair has stated, this court and this representation shall faithfully abide by that ruling,” Escudero said.