Today is the 26th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate impeachment court will tackle the question on how many votes are needed to secure a conviction or acquittal in an impeachment trial.
11:09 a.m. - Puno says the Avelino case cannot resolve the problem on how to properly interpret Article 11 Section 3(6) because what this resolves is the right number to constitute a quorum, not the right number to convict a respondent in an impeachment case.
11:06 a.m. - Puno says he does not subscribe to the first school of though in interpreting Article 11 section 3 (6) of the Constitution. He says a literal reading is isolated from other related provisions of the Constitution.
A strict and literal interpretation, according to Puno, may result in absurdities and injustices which will defeat the purpose of the Constitution.
11 a.m. - Puno says the impeachment court has the sole power in trying and deciding impeachment cases.
10:59 a.m. - Puno says there is another school of thought where proponents adopt the contextual approach which requires interpretation of other related positions of the Constitution.
10:56 a.m. - Puno: “With due respect, the literal interpretation of the threshold number of votes to convict is just one school of interpretation."
10:53 a.m. - Puno says the Senate, as an impeachment court, possesses the power to interpret the meaning and nuances of the sentence "No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate."
10:51 a.m. - Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno is recognized.
10:50 a.m. - Is it fair for senators to vote despite not being active in the proceedings? Panganiban says "meaningful adjudication requires active participation."
Photo courtesy: Senate10:48 a.m. - Panganiban says the judgment of the Senate is not appealable to the Supreme Court unless there is grave abuse of discretion.
10:47 a.m. - According to Panganiban, however, neither of the two modes should be used in trying impeachment cases. He says this is because senators are not jurists or lawyers; they are co-equal of justices.
Panganiban explains that senators should interpret the Constitution in accordance with their mandate guided by truth and fairness.
Photo courtesy: Senate
10:43 a.m. - Panganiban says it is not necessary for the interpretation of the drafters of the Constitution to prevail.
He adds that the makers of the law are not the final authorities on interpretation which is lodged in the Judiciary and in this case, the Senate.
Photo courtesy: Senate
10:40 a.m. - The second method is ratio legis est anima which.
Panganiban: "The text must be understood within its Constitutional ambiance."
Photo courtesy: Senate 10:37 a.m. - Panganiban says justices and judges interpret the Constitution and the laws in two ways -- verba legis and ratio legis est anima.
Verba legis is the plain reading. Applying this to the membership of the Senate, two-thirds means 16 members needed to convict.
Photo courtesy: Senate
Photo courtesy: Senate
Photo courtesy: Senate
10:32 a.m. - Panganiban's first point -- an impeachment trial in the Senate is sui generis or of its own kind.
Photo courtesy: Senate
10:31 a.m. - Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban is recognized.
10:29 a.m. - On whether or not a Senator-judge who did not attend or substantially participate in the impeachment proceedings may cast a vote on the final question in the impeachment trial, Davide says:
"A Senator-Judge who did not attend any session of the Court for any reason whatsoever or who never acted or performed the duties as a Senator-Judge must be deemed to have never participated in the performance of the duties as such. He should belong to the category of those who are outside the jurisdiction of the Philippines or in a foreign country or one whose whereabouts are unknown.
As to those who did not substantially participate in the impeachment proceedings, the undersigned leaves this matter to the conscience and sense of duty to those involved."
10:26 a.m. - On Avelino vs. Cuenco, Davide says:
"The undersigned respectfully submits that it is not directly applicable in Impeachment cases... The matter in issue in this Avelino vs. Cuenco case was purely relative to the determination of quorum in a Senate exclusively acting as a legislative body, and performing exclusively legislative functions, and not as an Impeachment Court."
"May this decision in Avelino vs. Cuenco be applied in a Senate acting as an Impeachment Court? The Impeachment Court can consider this as having a persuasive value. Nevertheless, in light of the disquisitions above on the first issue, we now can conclude that those who are detained, abroad, suspended or whose whereabouts are unknown cannot be included, or must be excluded, from the phrase 'all the Members of the Senate.'"
10:22 a.m. - Davide: "The framers of the Constitutions of 1935, 1973 and 1987 could never have intended to include in 'ALL MEMBERS' Senators in a given Congress the following:
- those who have resigned or have been expelled;
- those who suffer from any mental infirmity as, for instance, those in any state of insanity or who are suffering from Alzheimer;
- those who are suffering from any physical incapacity, such as the deaf and the dumb, the blind, or those in hospitals or at home suffering from terminal cancer or are in comatose condition, or under tracheotomy;
- those who cannot participate in the hearings and deliberations on the impeachment, such as those who are outside the jurisdiction of the Philippines, or whose whereabouts are unknown or in hiding to avoid arrests; and
- those who by reason of some legal impediments or restraints, cannot exercise or perform their rights and privileges as a public official or, more specifically, as a Senator.
10:19 a.m. - Regarding the phrase "all members of the Senate," Davide said: "There was no debate on this subject during the deliberations in both the 1973 Constitutional Convention and in the Constitutional Commission of 1986. It was presumed and assumed that when the Constitution mentioned 'two-thirds' of all the Members of the Batasang Pambansa in the 1973 Constitution and of the Senate in the 1987 Constitution, or three-fourths of all the Members of the Senate in the 1935 Constitution, the word members refers to living persons who are not suffering from any mental, physical or health conditions which render them incapable of exercising their powers or performing their duties as senators, or who are prohibited to do so by reason of some legal restraints or impediments. This is the spirit of the provision. It could not be otherwise."
10:17 a.m. - Davide was one of the delegates to the 1971 Constitutional Convention which drafted the 1973 Constitution, and one of the Commissioners of the 1986 Constitutional Commission which drafted the 1987 Constitution.
10:15 a.m. - Atty. Renato Bantug Jr, impeachment Clerk of Court, reads a synopsis of the memorandum submitted by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. Davide was not able to physically attend because of a medical procedure.
10:13 a.m. - According to Senator-judge and Presiding Officer Francis Escudero, the amici curiae or friends of the court will assist the court in determining the following:
- Whether the phrase "all the members of the Senate" should refer to the Senate's full membership or only those legally and physically capacitated to participate and vote on the final question in an impeachment trial;
- Whether or not Avelino vs Cuenco applies in determining whether senators detained, abroad, suspended or whose whereabouts are unknown are included in the phrase “all members of the Senate" for the purposes of the 2/3 vote;
- Whether or not a Senator-judge who did not attend or substantially participate in the impeachment proceedings may cast a vote on the final question in the impeachment trial.
10:04 a.m. - 17 Senator-judges are present.
10:02 a.m. - Day 26 of the impeachment trial begins.
LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte's Impeachment Trial (Day 25)
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