JUST IN: Atty. Rodriguez files Petition before the Supreme Court

SUPREME COURT PETITION VS. LOWERED IMPEACHMENT CONVICTION THRESHOLD JUST IN: Former Executive Secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the decision issued by the Senate Impeachment Tribunal on September 23. The petition includes a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and/or a Writ of Preliminary Injunction. Rodriguez specifically questioned the tribunal’s change in the voting threshold required for conviction, noting that the original threshold was set at 16 votes. The Senate impeachment court carefully heard opposing positions before ruling on the two-thirds voting threshold, making it difficult to portray its decision as arbitrary, House prosecution legal spokesperson and private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said in a press briefing Friday. Tolosa made the statement in relation to the petition of lawyer Victor Rodriguez asking the Supreme Court to nullify the Senate court’s Sept. 23 ruling – that the two-thirds requirement for conviction will be computed from senators who remain legally and factually capable of participating when judgment is rendered. The new interpretation was voted upon by the Senate Impeachment Court 13-1, with six senator-judges who did not participate in the voting. The Rodriguez petition also seeks a temporary restraining order (TRO) or preliminary injunction. Tolosa, however, said the impeachment proceedings must continue unless the Supreme Court issues a relief order stopping them. His response centered on the process that produced the ruling: the impeachment court heard the prosecution and defense, then invited four former Supreme Court justices – Including three retired chief justices – to explain their competing constitutional interpretations. #vpsaraduterte #vpsaraimpeachment #vpsaraduterteimpeachmenttrial #duterte #senatehearing #senado