Former Iloilo representative Niel Tupas Jr., lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, said the required two-thirds vote to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, should be rounded up when the computation results in a fraction.
Tupas made the statement during an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At The Forefront with Atty. Karen Jimeno as the Senate impeachment court tackles the issue of the voting threshold for the possible conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Under a holistic approach, Tupas says only senators capable of participating in the proceedings would be counted.
If the number is reduced to 20 senators, two-thirds would be 13.33 votes.
But according to Tupas, this should be rounded up to 14, not down to 13.
“Because for me, 13 is not two-thirds of 20. It is lower than two-thirds,” Tupas said.
“So if it’s 13.3, you’ll go to 14. That’s the way I read it. That’s the way I read it,” he added.
Tupas said former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna had cited a Supreme Court decision saying fractions should be disregarded, which could result in 13 votes if the computation is 13.3.
But Tupas disagreed, saying the ruling cited by Azcuna involved the Commission on Appointments and equal party representation, not impeachment.
He also cited the 2012 impeachment trial of Corona when there were only 23 senators because then-Senator Benigno Aquino III had become president.
Tupas recalled that two-thirds of 23 is 15.3, but then-Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ruled that 16 votes were needed.
“I remember what President Enrile said at the time, president of the Senate, that it’s still 16. Not 15. Because 15 is lower than 15.3,” Tupas said.
Tupas said the issue illustrates the difficulty of applying a lower threshold based only on senators who are able to participate.
The two competing approaches are the Constitution’s plain-language reading, which counts all Senate members, and the “holistic” approach, which bases the threshold on senators capable of participating in the proceedings.#f