Ex-SC justice: All Senate members count in Duterte impeachment vote

Manila — In a statement addressing the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna emphasized that every senator must be counted when calculating the conviction threshold.

"All means all," Azcuna said on Wednesday, underscoring his position that all Senate members constitute the denominator in computing the two-thirds majority needed to convict in an impeachment trial.

The clarification comes as the House of Representatives' impeachment complaint against Duterte moves through the Senate, where constitutional questions about voting requirements have emerged. Azcuna's interpretation suggests that senators who are absent or abstain would still be counted as part of the total Senate membership when determining whether the two-thirds threshold has been met.

The dispute over the voting threshold has significant implications for the impeachment trial's outcome. A broader interpretation of who counts toward the denominator would require a higher absolute number of votes to achieve the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.

Azcuna's pronouncement carries weight given his lengthy tenure on the Supreme Court, where he would have been involved in interpreting constitutional provisions governing impeachment procedures.