Minority boycotts impeach court caucus

An all-senators caucus was called on Thursday to discuss preparations for Vice President Sara Duterte’s looming impeachment trial in the Senate, but the minority bloc boycotted it.

Only Senator Robin Padilla attended the closed-door meeting on behalf of the nine-member minority. Senator Rodante Marcoleta was present at a hearing earlier that same day but was a no-show at the caucus.

The minority bloc was mostly comprised of senators allied with the VP, including Senators Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa, who has been absent since November.

Senate President Tito Sotto told reporters in an ambush interview that the opposition “gave no explanation” for not attending despite being informed and invited.

Nonetheless, he said Padilla was tasked to “relay” the developments discussed in the caucus to minority members.

Aside from Sotto and Padilla, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, Majority Leader Migz Zubiri, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, Lito Lapid, JV Ejercito, Raffy Tulfo and Pia Cayetano were also present.

The caucus was held a day after the House committee on justice found probable cause to impeach the VP, bringing the case closer to the plenary for a vote. If the required threshold of one-third votes of the entire House is met, the Articles of Impeachment would be sent to the Senate for trial.

Lacson said the recent development in the House had nothing to do with the caucus, which was scheduled already “several days ago.”

Sotto refused to provide a definite timeline for the impeachment, claiming that it remains “speculative” until the Senate receives the Articles from the House.

Ousting VP a crucible

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon said the most challenging stage of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case will be securing a conviction in the Senate, which requires a minimum of 16 votes, or two-thirds of the chamber.

In a DZRH radio interview on Thursday, Drilon discussed the expected results from the House Committee on Justice on Wednesday and noted the absence of Duterte’s camp.

He suggested that this may signal her confidence that the Senate will struggle to secure enough votes for conviction.

“If I look at the current composition of the Senate, I think that, assuming the pro-Marcos and pro-Duterte lines are followed, there are about 19 senators. Based on political alignment, around nine of them would vote in favor of Sara,” Drilon said.