MANILA – The House prosecution team welcomed the Senate impeachment court’s decision to seek expert opinions on the 16-vote threshold for convicting Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, while maintaining that its focus remains on presenting strong evidence against her.

House prosecutor and Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores said the impeachment court was right to consult legal experts before deciding whether to retain or reconsider the required number of votes.

“Tama lang iyan na we call on experts who will be presenting their opinions, be it for or against the changes in the number sa threshold,” Flores said during a post-trial press briefing.

“Mas mabuti na rin iyong hihingi tayo ng tulong or ng opinion ng mga experts in this particular field para mas properly guided po iyong senator-judges natin on how to determine the threshold,” he added.

Flores said the debate over the voting threshold would not affect the prosecution’s effort to prove the four Articles of Impeachment through evidence.

“I think we will rise and fall based on the evidence that we have presented. So, it’s not really kung ilan iyong threshold, but it’s the strength of our evidence that we presented,” he said.

The issue was revived after Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo called for an early ruling on whether the 16-vote requirement should remain in effect despite four of the Senate’s 24 members being unable to participate in the trial.

Tulfo raised concerns that including senators who cannot take part in the proceedings could make a conviction unattainable and undermine the constitutional accountability mechanism of impeachment.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero had earlier ruled that 16 affirmative votes were necessary to convict Duterte, citing the constitutional requirement that at least two-thirds of all Senate members concur in a conviction.

The impeachment court is scheduled to hear independent legal opinions from amici curiae, or friends of the court, on Sept. 16. The prosecution and defense will then present their oral arguments on Sept. 23.

House prosecution spokesperson and counsel Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the prosecution would follow the court’s schedule and present its legal position during the oral arguments.

“We will leave the matter entirely to the discretion of the impeachment court,” Tolosa said.

Tolosa said the prosecution was proceeding on the assumption that the senator-judges would remain politically neutral and rule on the impeachment charges based on the evidence, regardless of the threshold ultimately adopted.

“Kahit 16 iyan or kung anumang number iyan, basta nagpresenta kami ng malakas na ebidensya, dapat makukuha namin iyan,” Tolosa said.