• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has voiced strong hopes that senators will rise above partisan lines and focus purely on the facts in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
While acknowledging that the political alignment within the Senate is starkly apparent, Benitez emphasized that the upcoming hearings demand a commitment to objective inquiry rather than pre-determined political loyalties.
Benitez noted that political considerations often weigh heavily in such tribunals though he has no idea as to the outcome of the proceedings.
“They say it’s more of political judgment than anything else; it appears very clear the stand of senators where they stand politically. Hopefully, the senators will set aside their political biases and listen to the evidences presented,” the Bacolod lawmaker said.
Beyond the political dynamics, a constitutional gray area has emerged regarding the threshold required to convict and remove an official from office, he added.
Though Senate President Francis Escudero has frequently cited 16 votes as the benchmark required to secure a conviction, Benitez pointed out that the wording of the charter opens the door to legal debate.
“Sixteen votes needed to impeach the VP. That is what Senator Chiz mentioned that it is still, to me, the Constitution did not explicitly [say] 16. It says majority of all members,” Benitez explained. “When you say all members, two-thirds of 24 is 16.”
However, whether 16 remains the definitive baseline depends heavily on how the legal community interprets the phrase “all members”, especially in scenarios involving vacancies, abstentions, or recusals.
“Is 16 still the number? The definition of all members will be, I think, subject to legal question,” Benitez said. | GPB
