11 votes needed to overturn 16-vote rule in Sara Duterte impeachment trial

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 13, 2026

Photo courtesy: Multiple Sources

MANILA, Philippines — At least 11 votes from the 20 active senator-judges would be needed to overturn the current ruling requiring 16 votes to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, the Senate impeachment court has clarified.

Impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol corrected his earlier statement that only 10 votes would be needed, saying presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero may also vote on the issue.

Tongol had initially excluded Escudero from the count because the 16-vote threshold came from the presiding officer’s July 6 ruling.

He later said Escudero and impeachment court clerk Renato Bantug Jr. clarified that the presiding officer’s vote would still be counted.

If all 20 currently active senator-judges participate, a simple majority of 11 would therefore be required to reverse Escudero’s ruling.

Escudero has maintained that the Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate, which he interprets as 16 votes based on the chamber’s full 24-member composition.

The issue has become significant because four senators are currently unable to participate regularly in the trial.

Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta are detained over separate plunder cases, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa remains absent while facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, while Sen. Loren Legarda is on medical leave abroad.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo raised the threshold question during the Sept. 8 impeachment proceedings, asking whether senators who cannot participate should still be counted in determining how many votes are required for conviction.

The Senate impeachment court is expected to hear legal guidance on the issue from retired Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban, Reynato Puno and Hilario Davide Jr., as well as retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna.

Panganiban, Puno and Azcuna are expected to appear before the court, while Davide will submit a legal memorandum. Davide and Azcuna were members of the body that drafted the 1987 Constitution.

Oral arguments from the prosecution and defense are scheduled for September 23, when the senator-judges are also expected to act on the disputed voting threshold.

The Constitution states that no person may be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate.

What remains unsettled is whether “all members” should continue to mean the full 24-member Senate despite the current absences, or whether the threshold should be recalculated based on senators legally able to participate.

Any change to the 16-vote rule could ultimately be challenged before the Supreme Court, Tongol said.