House impeachment trial spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said the Senate impeachment court should revisit the two-thirds vote threshold required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, citing the repeated absence of several senator-judges from the proceedings.

Barbers, a former lawmaker, said judges in regular court proceedings are expected to be present during hearings so they can properly assess evidence and testimony before reaching a decision.

“You have to weigh all this evidence before you come up with a final judgment. How will you render an honest to goodness, objective and fair decision if you did not see the evidence and hear the testimony?” Barbers asked.

He cited the recent statement of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who said the issue of the constitutionally mandated two-thirds vote for conviction could again be raised during the trial.

Zubiri noted that several senators have been unable to attend proceedings because of other circumstances.

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada have been detained over separate plunder cases before the Sandiganbayan, while Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has not been publicly seen since 14 May amid an International Criminal Court arrest warrant linked to the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Sen. Loren Legarda has also missed proceedings after filing several medical leaves.

Barbers said the absences raise questions over how the two-thirds requirement should be applied, particularly whether it should be based on the full 24-member Senate or only on senator-judges able to participate in the trial.

With 24 senators, the conventional threshold for conviction is 16 votes. Earlier in the impeachment trial, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said 16 votes would be required.

But Barbers said the issue could eventually reach the Supreme Court, which could set a precedent on how the constitutional threshold should be interpreted.

“We in the prosecution believe that the Supreme Court can make that kind of a decision at this point in time,” he said.

Barbers acknowledged, however, that a justiciable controversy may first have to arise before the issue can be brought before the high court.

“I have no idea how a justifiable issue will be had before a decision can be rendered by the court. For now, I don’t know how it can happen,” he said.

Confidence in evidence

Despite the potential implications of the vote-threshold issue, Barbers said the prosecution has yet to consider formally pursuing the matter, saying it is “not the appropriate time.”

Two months into the trial, the prosecution is expected to finish presenting evidence on 9 September for Article I of the impeachment complaint, which concerns the alleged misuse of confidential funds by Duterte.

Barbers said the prosecution remains confident it can secure a conviction regardless of the required number of votes.

“We’re confident that we can get a conviction whatever the number is. Assuming that the number will change, our belief is that if we will base it on evidence, I feel that the senator-judges will be fair and objective in appreciating and weighing the evidence,” he said.

“The prosecution is confident that with the presented evidence, it has weight and it can secure a conviction, regardless of the number,” he added.

Members of the prosecution panel have previously said they expect the impeachment trial to conclude before the end of the year.