Metro Manila, Philippines – The Supreme Court dismissed three petitions challenging the Senate Impeachment Court interpretation of the two-thirds vote to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
“The SC dismissed the petitions on procedural grounds including lack of standing and prematurity,” the high court said in a September 30 briefer.
The petitions were separately filed by former Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, and lawyers Berteni Cataluña Causing and Ernesto Francisco Jr.
The impeachment court ruled on Sept. 23 that the constitutional phrase “all the Members of the Senate” refers only to senators who are legally and actually able to participate in the impeachment proceedings at the time of the vote, and not fixed at 16, or two-thirds of the full 24-member Senate.
In the current situation of 20 senator-judges in attendance, the impeachment court said the threshold would be 14 votes.
Rodriguez challenged the interpretation with the Supreme Court, arguing that the impeachment court effectively amended the Constitution by adding a qualification that does not appear in its text.
He also sought a temporary restraining order on the impeachment court ruling.
Rodriguez said Filipinos have a stake in protecting the Constitution, invoking what he described as “intergenerational sovereignty.”
“This is OUR Constitution, this is where we derive our legal personality, this is our LOCUS STANDI,” he said in a statement.
The high court statement was silent on how the constitutional two-thirds requirement should be computed.
The dismissal leaves the impeachment court vote rule in place.
