Omitting absent senators cuts the votes needed to oust Sara Duterte-Carpio from 16 to 14, setting up a clash over the court’s legitimacy
4-MIN READ4-MINSam BeltranPublished: 5:00pm, 24 Sep 2026The Philippine Senate has made it mathematically easier to convict Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, but observers said the ruling could intensify a battle over an impeachment trial already viewed by the public as deeply divisive.The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, ruled on Wednesday that only senator-judges who are able to take part in the trial should be counted in determining the threshold for conviction.
Under the Philippine constitution, a two-thirds vote of the Senate is required to convict an impeached official.
