Senate impeachment court presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero reaffirmed his ruling that Vice President Sara Duterte may only be convicted in her impeachment trial if at least 16 senator-judges vote in favour of conviction.

Escudero explained that this is based on the constitutional requirement that a conviction in an impeachment case must receive the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate.Since the Senate currently has 24 members, he said the required threshold is 16 affirmative votes.

The issue was formally raised during the proceedings by Senator Panfilo Lacson, who asked whether Escudero’s previous statement was merely a legal opinion or an official ruling of the impeachment court.

Lacson also questioned whether such a ruling could become a justiciable issue that may later be reviewed by the Supreme Court if challenged by either party on the grounds of grave abuse of discretion.In response, Escudero confirmed that his statement was indeed an official ruling of the impeachment court.He added that because no senator-judge objected to or appealed the ruling during the session, it remains in effect.

Escudero further said that while he believes the matter could now be considered a justiciable controversy, it is ultimately up to the courts to determine whether they have jurisdiction to review it.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also stated that he had no objection to the ruling and agreed that, as of the court’s current interpretation, 16 votes are required to convict on any article of impeachment.However, he noted that the Senate may continue discussing constitutional issues that arise during the trial.