FACT CHECK: Chief Justice Gesmundo did not approve 13-vote threshold for VP Sara’s conviction

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Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo did not declare a 13-vote threshold for Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, contradicting claims made in a YouTube video. The Senate impeachment court was still debating the voting threshold at the time the video was posted. On September 23, the impeachment court voted to lower the voting threshold. The claim about Gesmundo's ruling is unfounded as it is the Senate impeachment court that made the ruling. This is AI-generated.

Claim: Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has declared a 13-vote threshold to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, with 13 votes already approved.

Why we fact-checked this: A YouTube video posted on September 19 by the channel “News Update Files” carried the claim.