MANILA — The debate over whether the required vote threshold for conviction in the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte should be adjusted is not a valid reason to delay the start of the Senate trial, a House prosecution official said.

In a report, it said that Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, who leads the House prosecution panel, made the statement after attending the pre-trial conference for the impeachment proceedings held behind closed doors in Pasay City.

All 11 members of the prosecution team were present during the morning session, which forms part of preparations ahead of the formal impeachment trial set to begin on July 6.

Luistro said the proceedings are expected to last for several months, giving senator-judges enough time to resolve procedural questions, including the issue on the required number of votes for conviction.

“Mahaba pa itong trial na ito. Sa estimate ko nga, abutin ito hanggang end of September (This trial will still be long. In my estimate, it will reach until the end of September),” she said.

“So ‘yung sinasabi natin na hihinto to give way to this prejudicial question, I don’t think sapagkat sa dulo pa natin kakailanganin actually ‘yung certainty as to the number of votes required for the purpose of conviction,” she added.

Luistro was referring to the ongoing discussion on whether the constitutional two-thirds vote requirement should be based on the full Senate membership (16 of 24 senators) or only on senators who are actively participating in the impeachment court.

Some lawmakers have suggested that the threshold could be reduced to 15 votes, citing the number of senator-judges currently able to perform their duties.

The House justice committee chair said the matter largely concerns Senate procedure and may fall under the chamber’s authority to interpret its own rules.

“As a general rule, justiciable question ‘yan (that is a justiciable) because it pertains the procedure in the Senate,” Luistro said.

She also cited past Supreme Court rulings that declined to intervene in internal Senate leadership disputes, describing them as political questions within the Senate’s constitutional autonomy.

“At kamuka nitong petition about the leadership, di ba dinismiss ng Supreme Court? (And like this petition before the leadership, wasn’t this dismissed by the Supreme Court?) They refuse to resolve the issue for the reason that it is a political question which belongs exclusively to the constitutional autonomy of the Senate,” she said.

The impeachment trial is scheduled to formally commence on July 6.