SENATOR-JUDGE Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday warned against changing the rules on conviction midway as the Senate impeachment court reexamines whether 16 votes should remain necessary to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
The issue had resurfaced last week when Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo sought clarification on whether the two-thirds requirement should still be based on the full 24-member Senate, as Presiding Officer Francis Escudero had ruled at the start of the trial.
Article XI, Section 3(6) of the Constitution provides that no person may be convicted in an impeachment trial without the concurrence of “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”
During his interjection on September 14 to former Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang during the 24th day of the impeachment trial, Cayetano raised the implications of changing rules while proceedings are already underway.
Tang, answering from the perspective of criminal law, said rules of evidence cannot be changed during the prosecution of a case.
She cited the current Sandiganbayan rules in which two of three justices are sufficient to render a valid judgment.
“So, kung gusto talagang ma-convict, biglang ibahin y’ung rules, isa na lang out of three. Would that give justice?” Cayetano asked.
“No, sir, and that is not allowed,” Tang replied.
“OK. Sa inyo [hindi allowed], sa amin baka [allowed],” Cayetano said.
The impeachment court will hear retired Chief Justices Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno and retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna on September 16 as amici curiae, or friends of the court who provide independent legal guidance on the disputed voting threshold, while former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. will submit a legal memorandum ahead of oral arguments by the prosecution and defense on September 23.
Cayetano stressed that the issue could set a precedent far beyond the present impeachment trial.
“This impeachment court’s decision and how we conduct ourselves and whether we follow the rules or not will determine our destiny not only in the next two years, 10 years, maybe in the next 40 years,” he said.
