Impeachment court settles Sara Duterte conviction threshold, leaves room for Supreme Court review

Floyd Brenz., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 23, 2026

Photo Courtesy: Senate of the Philippiones/Facebook

The Senate impeachment court has settled the disputed voting threshold for convicting Vice President Sara Duterte, ruling that the required two-thirds vote will be based on senators who are legally and factually capable of participating when the judgment is made.

The ruling replaces the earlier interpretation that 16 votes, or two-thirds of the 24-member Senate, would be required for conviction. The impeachment court voted 13-1 to adopt the new approach, with six senator-judges not participating.

Under the new formula, senators who are legally or factually unable to participate may be excluded from the denominator. These include senators who are detained or suspended, in hiding, medically incapacitated or otherwise beyond the Senate’s ability to compel their participation.

The court also ruled that any fractional result in calculating the two-thirds requirement must be rounded up to the next whole number. However, the ruling does not establish a fixed new number of votes because the court must first determine which senator-judges can participate when judgment is eventually rendered.

The defense challenged the move, arguing that changing the threshold while the trial is already underway could raise due process and fairness concerns. Defense lawyer Michael Poa also said the issue could be brought before the Supreme Court.

The prosecution, meanwhile, argued that counting senators who are unable to function as judges could effectively result in an “acquittal by default.” Prosecutor Chel Diokno said the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds vote should still apply, but the relevant membership should reflect senators actually capable of performing the impeachment function.

The court’s presiding officer, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, said the ruling applies only to Duterte’s current impeachment trial and does not amend the Senate’s rules for future impeachment proceedings. He also said parties may still seek judicial relief over the issue.

Duterte’s defense team said it would exhaust all legal remedies following the ruling, while the impeachment trial continues.