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The House prosecution panel is yet to determine its course of action regarding the conviction threshold, the required number of votes to secure a conviction, in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
House Lead Prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said the panel is currently focused on the pre-trial conference.
Luistro E×ρréššed preference for the conviction threshold issue to be resolved before the impeachment trial concludes, but noted that the prosecution team remains concentrated on the pre-trial conference and the forthcoming pre-trial order from the impeachment court, which will serve as a roadmap that cannot be violated during proceedings.
The lawmaker said the prosecution team will still discuss its next steps on the matter.
"Siguro after this pre-trial conference, we will focus discussing this one, no? At come up also with the position of the prosecution kung mayroon ba kaming dapat gawin, kung ito ba ay qualified na to become a subject matter of a petition in court, no? Of course, we recognize also the legal position of the other parties with respect to the threshold," Luistro said.
(Perhaps after this pre-trial conference, we will focus on discussing this, and also come up with the position of the prosecution on whether there is something we should do, whether this is qualified to become a subject matter of a petition in court. Of course, we recognize also the legal position of the other parties with respect to the threshold.)
Under the Constitution, no impeachable official may be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all members of the Senate.
There are currently 24 senators, though Senator Jinggoy Estrada remains detained on plunder and graft charges, while Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa is in hiding amid an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.
The conviction threshold has become a contentious issue amid the legal situations facing several senators.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has maintained that 16 senator-judge votes are needed to convict VP Duterte. Luistro, however, holds a different view.
"The threshold must depend on the number of senators within the coercive means or power of the Senate. That is my personal opinion also. But I do recognize the position, contrary opinion of the others," Luistro said.
Meanwhile, House Impeachment Trial Spokesperson and Lanao Del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said the House prosecutors are in high spirits amid the pre-trial conference, attributing their confidence to the evidence against the Vice President.
"Our prosecution panel is in high spirits dahil unang-una yung ebidensya at saka yung mga articles at saka yung mga ipe-presenta na mga testimonya at saka mga witnesses ay solid, rock solid na madaling maintindihan ng korte, madaling maintindihan ng ating taumbayan," Adiong said.
(Our prosecution panel is in high spirits because first and foremost, the evidence, the articles, the testimonies to be presented, and the witnesses are solid, rock solid, and easy for the court to understand, easy for our people to understand.)
Luistro also E×ρréššed confidence that senator-judges will base their decision on the strength of the evidence.
"My position on that is kung malakas ang ebidensya, regardless of the fact that this is a political process, I think the Senator-Judges will be inclined to look into the evidence and not based purely on political affiliation. Nonetheless, we would like to E×ρréšš our utmost confidence sa lahat ng ating mga senator-judges," Luistro said.
(My position on that is if the evidence is strong, regardless of the fact that this is a political process, I think the Senator-Judges will be inclined to look into the evidence and not based purely on political affiliation. Nonetheless, we would like to E×ρréšš our utmost confidence in all our senator-judges.)
The pre-trial conference is set to continue on Monday, June 22, when both sides are expected to submit their comments on the stipulation process.
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Date posted: June 20, 2026 5:29 PM