The Senate impeachment court can proceed with the high-stakes impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte tomorrow, Monday, even with only 13 senators present in the court amid murmurs that Senator Alan Cayetano and allies may boycott the first day of the proceedings as a protest, a top official of the chamber said Sunday. 

However, Senate President Win Gatchalian sternly reminded his colleagues of their mandate as senator-judges, asserting that they have to participate in the trial despite the lingering tensions from their recent leadership feud.

Citing past precedents, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., clerk of the impeachment court, stressed that the absence of some senator-judges will not derail the trial as long as there are 13 present. The figure is the constitutionally mandated majority threshold for the Senate to conduct business, including impeachment proceedings. 

“A full court isn’t necessary; even in our previous proceedings, it wasn’t required,” Bantug said in Filipino in a radio interview. 

“There will be a roll call anyway. Once we’ve established that there’s a quorum, the impeachment court can proceed with its agenda for the day,” he added. 

Gatchalian and his allies comprised the 13-member majority bloc.

Cayetano had raised concerns that the trial’s impartiality and validity could be compromised due to unresolved leadership and quorum issues pending before the Supreme Court. 

In mid-June, Cayetano and his allies petitioned the high court to settle what counts as a “majority of all members” of the Senate, arguing that this issue could affect the impeachment trial if the number of votes needed to convict depends on how many senators are allowed to participate.

The 11-member opposition bloc led by Cayetano mostly comprised of Duterte’s allies, including Senators Bong Go, Imee Marcos, and Robbib Padilla, among others.

Resolve majority threhold issue before trial

The dispute over the threshold stemmed from the 3 June leadership shakeup that removed Cayetano from the chamber’s top post in favor of Gatchalian despite falling short of one vote of the required 13-vote majority threshold.

Cayetano contended that it is crucial that the SC rule on the issue ahead of the trial to prevent a recurrence, especially as arrest warrants loom large over several senators, possibly reducing the required 16 votes of the 24 senator-judges for a conviction. 

Gatchalian, however, emphasized that questions of leadership and threshold are irrelevant in the impeachment court, as these concerns are more appropriately handled by the Senate as a legislative body.

“This is an impeachment court. This is not the forum to revisit discussions on [the leadership]—even though that matter has already been settled—but if our colleagues wish to raise that issue, it should be done in the Senate as a legislative body,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in a separate radio interview. 

Gatchalian has repeatedly claimed that the Senate impeachment court will strictly abide by the constitutional conviction threshold at 16 votes, regardless of how many members are physically present in the trial

According to Gatchalian, Cayetano still hasn’t reached out to him or congratulated him since the 3 June leadership revamp. 

Despite this, the Senate leader believed that senators allied with Cayetano’s bloc have already “moved on” from their bitter feud involving the leadership change recently. 

In fact, he averred that several members of the minority had reached out to him last week, informing him that they could not attend the all-senator caucus in preparations for the trial “due to prior commitments.”

Gatchalian emphasized that their presence is highly important to constitute a quorum on Monday. 

Conviction fixed at 16 votes

A conviction requires a two-thirds, or equivalent to 16, vote from the majority of all senator-judges. However, given the current composition of the Senate, with Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bato dela Rosa unable to attend the trial due to their legal troubles, while Senator Rodante Marcoleta is likely facing arrest soon, the question over the conviction threshold remains unresolved.

Duterte could be immediately removed from office and permanently barred from seeking one if she is convicted of any of the four charges.

Conversely, if the vote falls short of the two-thirds threshold, she is automatically acquitted and remains in office.

No “bloodbath” trial is expected tomorrow yet since the first day of the trial will be devoted primarily to procedural formalities, such as the formal entry of appearances by the defense and prosecution. 

The opposing camps will deliver their opening statements and outline their cases. No witnesses are expected to take the stand yet, as they are scheduled in subsequent days. 

At present, VP’s camp has yet to confirm whether she will attend the trial after being summoned by the impeachment court. Nonetheless, Gatchalian said the Senate impeachment court is prepared for any “last-minute” change in the VP’s decision.

Gatchalian stressed that no performatice speech will be entertained during the trial, not even "friendly gestures,  should the VP suddenly appear at the proceedings to ensure impartiality of the trial.

Duterte is the first vice president to stand trial. What makes it even more historic is that she is the first high-ranking official to be impeached twice, with the first in February last year. However, the Supreme Court struck it down on a technicality before the Senate could hold a proper trial.

The VP only needs nine votes from senator-judges to be acquitted of any one of the four charges, though questions remain over whether the court will lower the threshold given the legal issues hounding several senators 

The House of Representatives lodged four articles of impeachment against Duterte, accusing her of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and grave threats. The charges will be meticulously examined in a 92-day trial.