SC asked to void lowered vote threshold in Sara Duterte impeachment
MANILA, Philippines — Two petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the lowered voting threshold approved by the Senate impeachment court to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lawyer Ernesto Francisco filed his petition on Friday, September 25, while former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez filed his petition on Thursday, September 24.
Both petitioners urged the Supreme Court to intervene immediately rather than wait for the trial's conclusion.
They argued that allowing a potentially unconstitutional voting standard to decide the Vice President's fate could plunge the nation into severe political chaos and instability.
Francisco asked the High Court to declare the September 23 Senate proceedings null and void and issue a Status Quo Ante Order.
Rodriguez similarly prayed for a temporary restraining order to restrain the Senate from conducting or giving effect to any final conviction vote under the reduced denominator, asking the Court to reinstate the July 6 ruling requiring a strict 16-vote threshold.
Both petitioners argue that the Senate has overstepped its constitutional boundaries.
For Francisco, he said that the Senate impeachment court's ruling is a "capricious, arbitrary and whimsical interpretation" that amounts to a constitutional amendment.
"Substituting 'all members of the Senate' with 'those members who... remain legally and factually capable of participating' constitutes a rewriting of the Constitution, which the public respondent Senate Impeachment Court cannot legally do," Francisco said.
He warned that allowing the voting threshold to fluctuate based on individual circumstances threatens the structural integrity of other legislative voting requirements, such as declaring a state of war, overriding presidential vetoes, or passing tax exemptions.
Rodriguez, on his part, argued that the Senate cannot bypass the formal amendment and revision processes mandated under Article XVII of the Constitution.
"The Constitution does not recognize an 'impeachment exception' to its own amendment provisions," Rodriguez said.
The Senate impeachment court on September 22 lowered the voting threshold to convict Duterte, ruling that senators unable to take part in her trial will no longer count toward the two-thirds required by the Constitution.
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