MANILA: The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday (Sept 23) decided to reduce the number of votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.
This came after the majority of the senator-judges voted to reduce the conviction threshold after both the defence and prosecution’s oral arguments on the matter.
If she ever does get convicted, Duterte faces possible removal from office and perpetual disqualification from holding any public office.
To note, several senators have yet to participate in the trial, namely Jinggoy Estrada, Rodante Marcoleta, and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
Estrada and Marcoleta are currently detained amid separate plunder raps, while dela Rosa has been in hiding amid an arrest order from the International Criminal Court.
Loren Legarda, on the other hand, has been absent from the court since early August, citing medical leave.
Listed below are the current active senator-judges in the trial to provide a clearer perspective on how the senators could possibly vote for Duterte’s conviction:
Majority bloc
Senate president Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian
Senate president pro tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
Majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri
Francis “Chiz” Escudero
Risa Hontiveros
Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
J. V. Ejercito
Raffy Tulfo
Erwin Tulfo
Joel Villanueva
Bam Aquino
Panfilo “Ping” Lacson
Lito Lapid
Minority bloc
Minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano
Pia Cayetano
Mark Villar
Camille Villar
Bong Go
Robin Padilla
Imee Marcos
- Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
