Prosecution: New voting rule doesn’t ease burden of proof in impeachment

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court’s updated voting formula does not make the evidence against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte stronger or relieve the House prosecution panel of its burden of proof, prosecutors said Thursday.

House lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the revised denominator affects both sides of the final vote during the trial.

“What is lowered is not only the number for conviction but also the number for acquittal,” Luistro said during a press conference. “That has a two-way consequence.”

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“Yes, the required vote for conviction went down, but remember, the required vote for acquittal also went down,” she added. “It is wrong to say that only the conviction vote went down, because the acquittal vote went down at the same time.”

Using 20 legally and factually capable senator-judges as an example, Luistro explained that 14 votes would be needed to convict, while seven votes could prevent a conviction. Under the full 24-senator count, 16 votes are required to convict and nine can block it.

The actual denominator will be determined only when the court votes on the verdict, based on which senator-judges are legally and factually capable of participating fully at that time.

Luistro emphasized that the court’s ruling should not be treated as a forecast of conviction.

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“The prosecution is not in the position to say that the clarification or ruling of the impeachment court is towards conviction,” she said. “Our commitment remains the same—that is, to present the evidence for the prosecution.”

House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the panel’s witness list and evidentiary presentation remain unchanged regardless of the trial rules.

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“The presentation of evidence will not change,” Ridon said. “The witness list will also not change.”

Ridon confirmed that previously subpoenaed witnesses—including Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, officials from PhilHealth Region XI, and representatives from the Philippine National Police unit handling firearms records—would still be called to testify.

“The burden continues for the prosecution to deliver on the evidence,” Ridon said. “We will do that until the very end, irrespective of the changing of the threshold by the Senate impeachment court.”

Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. pointed to the prosecution’s documentary evidence, including Duterte’s 2025 declared net worth of ₱98.66 million and corporate records concerning declared business interests.

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“The evidence does not change,” Abante said. “There are also corporate records regarding dividends and her status as a listed director while serving as vice president.”