Luistro warns impeachment chaos looms sans SC ruling

A “very chaotic” situation could arise if the Supreme Court (SC) rules on the impeachment threshold only after the Senate had decided on whether to convict or acquit Vice President Sara Duterte, lead public prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro warned Thursday.

Luistro said she hoped the High Court would settle the issue before the Senate delivers its verdict, given the serious consequences of a conviction.

“I can only say that, hopefully, if the Supreme Court decides, it would be before the verdict so that we can avoid that consequence. We have to understand that a conviction has serious consequences,” said Luistro in an interview on ANC’s Headstart.

She explained that a conviction would remove Duterte from office and disqualify her from holding public office in the future.

The issue stems from a newly adopted Senate ruling that would count only the senators that participated in the trial in determining the number of the constitutionally required two-thirds vote threshold for conviction. With 20 senators actively participating, the threshold would be 14 votes.

Duterte’s defense team will call about two dozen witnesses when the trial resumes on 9 November after a long break.

Four senators have been absent from the proceedings, either entirely or for extended periods: Rodante Marcoleta, Jinggoy Estrada, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Loren Legarda.

Luistro said the prosecution team hopes it can secure 16 votes for conviction, which she believes could render the petitions before the Supreme Court moot.

“It is our hope that if there is a conviction, hopefully it is by 16 votes so the issue which is now submitted to the Supreme Court, to my mind, will be moot and academic,” she said.

Senate prerogative

Despite the petitions before the High Court, Luistro maintained the Senate has the sole authority to determine how it exercises its constitutional power to try and decide impeachment cases.

She cited the doctrine of political question, which generally bars courts from interfering in matters constitutionally entrusted to another branch of government.

She, however, acknowledged that courts may still review allegations of grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.

“It is clear in the Constitution that the Senate shall have the exclusive power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. Questions pertaining to the threshold, in our opinion, exclusively belong to that power of the Senate,” Luistro said.