The bar for finding Vice President Sara Duterte guilty in her impeachment trial has come under fresh internal scrutiny, with several members of the Senate now questioning whether the required number of votes should be reduced. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri disclosed the discussions to reporters on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
At issue is the 16-vote requirement that has governed the proceedings since they began. That figure reflects the two-thirds concurrence of the 24-member Senate that the Constitution mandates for any conviction in an impeachment case. When the trial opened on July 6, presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero declared in his opening remarks that at least 16 senator-judges would need to vote guilty for Duterte to be removed, a standard that stood because no senator-judge challenged it.
What has changed, according to Zubiri, is the makeup of the court itself. Several senator-judges are no longer able to sit, prompting some of their colleagues to argue that the threshold set months ago no longer fits the present reality. “There were some colleagues who would like to revisit the threshold… dahil kasi may mga nasa kulungan at isa pugante-at-large,” Zubiri told the media, pointing to lawmakers who are either detained or evading arrest.
He noted the difference between conditions then and now. “Ngayon kasi, may mga nasa kulungan at may isang at-large. When the Presiding Officer made the ruling, we still had a complete slate,” Zubiri said, referring to the full roster present when Escudero issued his determination.
The absences that have driven the debate involve four senators. Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been a fugitive since May 14, dodging an arrest warrant tied to a crimes-against-humanity case before the International Criminal Court, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was placed under a 90-day preventive suspension by the Sandiganbayan on June 16 following his June 1 arrest on plunder charges, the same report said, while Sen. Rodante Marcoleta was arrested for plunder on July 6. The fourth, Sen. Loren Legarda, has been absent through repeated medical leaves; she left the country in early August and did not return for subsequent hearings, VERA Files reported.
Zubiri stopped short of naming which senators want the change or specifying how many are behind it, and he did not indicate whether any formal proposal has been submitted. He framed the matter as still unsettled among the members. “But that’s if we decide to move the threshold. But that’s a debate now with members of the Senate at the moment,” he said. Any resolution, he indicated, would ultimately fall to Escudero. Not everyone agrees the court can act on its own; former Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has argued that only the impeachment court itself may decide the question, according to Inquirer.
Beyond the numbers dispute, Zubiri said lawmakers across both blocs share a common goal of wrapping up the trial quickly. “The consensus of all the senators, whether minority or majority, is that we want to finish the impeachment before the year ends, bago mag-Pasko,” he said. Completing the case, he explained, would let the chamber turn its attention to the proposed 2027 national budget along with the economy, inflation, and pending legislation.
To manage that workload alongside the trial, senators are ready to extend their hours considerably. “If we have to work 24/7, gagawin namin 24/7,” Zubiri said.
