The principle of statutory construction that plain and unambiguous constitutional provisions must be applied according to their ordinary meaning should govern the Senate’s determination of the voting threshold for the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lawyer Joel Arzaga, managing partner of Arzaga and Associates Law Office, said the Constitution’s requirement of a two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate clearly means 16 votes in the current 24-member chamber.
“For me, it’s quite simple. The Constitution is clear and unambiguous in what it provides, that it should be two-thirds of all members,” Arzaga said in an interview with Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At The Forefront hosted by Atty. Karen Jimeno.
“We know the principle in statutory construction and interpretation of the Constitution, that when the words of the Constitution are plain and ordinary, we simply have to apply what the Constitution proposes,” he added.
Arzaga said two-thirds of all 24 senators is 16, thereby rejecting the view that the threshold could be based only on senators who are present or participating in the proceedings.
Asked whether the plain and simple meaning of the constitutional provision means 16 votes, Arzaga replied, “Yes.”
He said the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, must come up with its own ruling if it is asked to determine the required number of votes and cannot simply wait for the courts to resolve the issue.
“If the Senate sitting as an impeachment court is called to make a ruling as to the number of votes required to secure a conviction, they have to act. They can’t just wait for the courts,” Arzaga said.
“They have to make a decision, and their decision has to be in accordance with the Constitution,” he added.
Arzaga said a Senate decision to lower the threshold could eventually become a justiciable controversy that may be brought before the Supreme Court.
The issue, Arzaga said, would be of “transcendental importance” because it involves the country’s second-highest public official.#