16 or lower? Ex-SC justices guide impeachment court on conviction threshold issue

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AMICI CURIAE. Retired chief justice Reynato Puno shares his opinion on the impeachment conviction threshold issue before the impeachment court on September 17, 2026.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate impeachment court invited four retired Supreme Court justices — three of them former top magistrates — on Wednesday, September 17, as amici curiae or friends of the court, to help guide senator-judges on the conviction threshold issue in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte .

The Constitution states that in an impeachment proceeding, no person shall be convicted without a two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate. As 24 is the total number of senators, two-thirds would be 16.