Sara Duterte camp ‘to exhaust all legal remedies’ after impeachment court revises conviction threshold

MANILA (UPDATED) — Vice President Sara Duterte will exhaust all legal remedies after the Senate impeachment court voted to revise the conviction threshold, her defense team said Wednesday.

The impeachment court voted in favor of Sen. Erwin Tulfo’s appeal to challenge trial presiding officer Francis Escudero’s earlier ruling that at least 16 votes were required for conviction.

This following the continued absence of Senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Rodante Marcoleta, Jinggoy Estrada and Loren Legarda from the proceedings. 

“Mula sa araw na ito, the respondent’s participation or any participation the respondent will have in this trial ay may tahasang pag-iingat, o with ad cautelam,” lead defense counsel Sheila Sison told the court.

“She reserves every right to all legal remedies available sa ilalim ng ating batas at Konstitusyon,” she added. 

The prosecution earlier expressed its intent to subpoena Duterte as a witness in her own impeachment trial. 

Sison noted that Duterte “does not shrink from accountability, nor does she fear the outcome of this impeachment trial.”

“She asked for nothing spectacular from this court, only the most essential and basic guarantees due to every individual — fairness and impartiality,” she added. 

The defense lawyer noted that any process seeking accountability from a public official must take place within the strict framework and procedure outlined in the Constitution, citing the Supreme Court ruling that declared the first Articles of Impeachment filed against Duterte last year “unconstitutional.”

SC upheld the decision January this year. 

“Those who participate in this process are as accountable to our people as those who are made the subject of impeachment,” Sison added, citing the SC. 

Before the court’s decision, the prosecution and defense engaged in an oral debate.

The prosecution argued that including senators who are unable to act as judges in the computation of the voting threshold amount to an “acquittal by default” in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. 

The defense meanwhile said changing the threshold while the trial was underway would raise questions about whether the country’s second-highest official was being afforded due process.   

The vice-president’s brother, Rep. Paolo Duterte, meanwhile questioned if the decision on the conviction threshold is within the authority of the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court.

“Does that interpretation conform to the Constitution?” he added.

“Constitutional questions should ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court—not by whoever happens to have the numbers inside the chamber,” said Rep. Duterte. “If the affected party chooses to bring that question before the Supreme Court, then let the High Court decide whether the Senate’s interpretation is consistent with the fundamental law.”

Thirteen senators voted to grant Tulfo’s appeal, while Escudero cast the lone dissenting vote. Six senators — Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Christopher “Bong” Go, Imee Marcos, Camille Villar and Robin Padilla — did not participate in the vote.

Dela Rosa remains in hiding following the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant against him, while Marcoleta and Estrada are detained for plunder cases. 

Legarda is still on medical leave. — With reports from Jaehwa Bernardo and Rowegie Abanto, ABS-CBN News