File photo of the impeachment trial proceedings at the Senate.
INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
The threshold of 16 votes for convicting Vice President Sara Duterte may be lowered to reflect who among the 24 senator-judges were present to participate in the impeachment trial, a constitutional law expert said on Saturday.
In an interview with the Inquirer, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Domingo Cayosa said this would be the “fair and practical” reading of the 1987 Constitution as it is in accordance with the spirit of the Charter, which is “not restrictive.”
“When you construe a law, the Constitution in this case, you try to harmonize everything or interpret it in such a way that the law becomes operative or effective, not inutile,” he said over the phone, citing the principle of statutory construction.
