Senator Ping Lacson on Sunday pushed back against criticisms accusing the Senate of pursuing a futile effort by tapping retired Supreme Court justices to resolve the debate over the voting threshold required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, even as senator-judges have allegedly had their decisions predetermined.

Lacson derided the allegations as “unfair,” saying senator-judges actually spar over the threshold issue as they have different interpretations of Article XI, Section 3(6) of the 1987 Constitution.

The provision sets the required number of votes to convict an impeached official at two-thirds, or 16 of the 24-member Senate.

“It doesn’t follow. We had a fellowship last week...Not everyone was present, but positions on that matter already differed. There was no fixed decision,” Lacson said in a radio interview in Filipino.

“It is very unfair for those accusing us of engaging in a futile exercise, as if we are merely fooling the public, when we have already made up our minds,” he added.