Azcuna: Convicting VP needs 16 votes, unless…

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Supreme Court justice Adolfo Azcuna believes that 16 is still the magic number to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial that begins in July.

However, if Sen. Ronald dela Rosa would be declared a fugitive and disentitled, the prosecution might need only 15 votes, Azcuna said, since the senator would be considered as “constructively resigned.”

“The voting threshold is based on the numbers of the Senate,” Azcuna told ANC in a recent interview. “Whether or not those members are present or able to actively participate, for as long as they remain members of the Senate, they should be counted in computing the two-thirds.”

Azcuna, one of the framers of the Constitution, added: “Right now, the number for me is still 16, because the senators unable to participate remain members of the Senate.”

Azcuna understands the concern of others on how a senator-judge, unable to participate in the hearing, can render proper judgment on the impeachment.

But he explained, “the Constitution does not exclude members unable to participate in counting the two-thirds. There is a reason for that, and that is to make sure that the process is not very easily obtained, to protect the tenure of our highest officials. The Constitution is very strict (about) the two-thirds vote; before it was even three-fourths. The two-thirds must be based on the entire Senate membership.”

The former justice acknowledged “there is another view” wherein those who could not actively participate in the proceedings might be excluded.

“The only possible exemption to my view is Sen. Dela Rosa. If he is judged a fugitive, in my view he could be considered resigned, constructive resignation, because being a fugitive entails running away from the legal system, and if one runs away from the legal system, he relinquishes all membership in that system and therefore, he may be considered having resigned. Constructive resignation,” he said.

“If that is so, if he is declared fugitive and disentitled, there is a Doctrine of Disentitlement in case of fugitive, and therefore, no longer a member of the legal system that he is denouncing by being a fugitive then minus one, and it becomes 24-1=23 and two-thirds of that would become 15 (votes needed to impeach Duterte),” Azcuna said.

Evidence, preparation keys to prosecution

Voluminous detailed bank records – considered as compelling evidence – are expected to pin down Duterte in her looming trial before the Senate impeachment court on July 6.

“From our side in the prosecution panel, what we are focused on of course is how do we lay down properly the presentation of evidence. Our goal is not on how many votes we can get. Our only purpose is to make our case convincing and persuasive,” Rep. Chel Diokno said yesterday.

In an interview on dzBB, the member of the 11-person prosecution team from the House of Representatives said the voting threshold – which requires 16 votes to convict – is not their priority.