MANILA – Members of the House impeachment team have supported a proposal to reconsider the 16-vote requirement for convicting Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, while acknowledging that the Supreme Court (SC) would ultimately have to determine whether changing the threshold is constitutional.

House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers and House Committee on Human Rights Chairperson and Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. backed Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri’s call to revisit the requirement amid the prolonged absence of several senator-judges from Duterte’s impeachment trial.

“Pabor ako sa ’yung call ni Senator Migz na i-reconsider, na ipababa nga po ’yung threshold from 16,” Barbers said during an online press briefing.

Barbers said senator-judges should personally attend the proceedings, hear the testimony and examine the evidence before deciding whether an impeachment charge warrants conviction.

“Paano ka makakapag-render ng honest-to-goodness, objective and fair na decision kapag hindi mo naman nakita ’yung mga ebidensya at saka testimonyang ito?” he asked.

Abante likewise said those deciding Duterte’s case should be present during the proceedings and expressed strong support for reviewing the required number of votes.

“The judge must be there, present. Ganoon din po sa mga senador,” Abante said.

Zubiri raised the issue Thursday, saying some senator-judges want the impeachment court to reconsider the 16-vote requirement because several members of the Senate have been unable to participate in the proceedings.

Among those absent are Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, who are detained on plunder charges, and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who remains in hiding amid an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. Sen. Loren Legarda has also been absent from the proceedings for weeks because of health concerns.

When Duterte’s impeachment trial began on July 6, Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero ruled that 16 affirmative votes would be needed to convict her.

The requirement is based on Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution, which states that no person may be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate. The chamber has 24 members.

Both Barbers and Abante said any dispute over the application of the constitutional provision amid the absence of senator-judges would ultimately fall to the SC.

“Dahil nga sa dami naman ng mga opinion at mga different schools of thought dito, ang final arbiter talaga diyan ay ang Korte Suprema,” Barbers said.

Abante said he also favors reconsidering the threshold but recognized that the constitutionality of such a move would be for the High Court to decide.

Abante said that “although I’m in favor of it, still, that would be a decision of the Supreme Court.”

Barbers, however, said the impeachment prosecution does not currently see a need to bring the matter before the SC because the trial is still focused on the presentation of evidence.

“Para sa prosecution ay hindi pa ’yung appropriate time. Inilalatag pa lang natin ’yung mga ebidensya,” he said.

He added that other parties or groups could eventually raise the constitutional issue before the SC.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the voting threshold, Barbers said the prosecution remains confident that the evidence presented in the impeachment proceedings could result in Duterte’s conviction.

Asked if the prosecution could still secure a conviction should the 16-vote requirement remain, Barbers said: “Sa tingin ko, yes, we are confident that we can get a conviction, whatever the number is.”

“Kaya nga confident ang prosecution na sa aming mga nalatag na mga ebidensya, mabigat ito at maaaring maka-secure ito ng conviction, regardless of the number,” he added.