Vic Rodriguez mulls MR after SC junks Sara Duterte impeachment threshold petition - GMA Network

Former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez said Thursday he is considering filing a motion for reconsideration of his petition against the Senate impeachment court’s decision on the voting threshold in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Rodriguez made the statement in an interview on GMA News’ Unang Balita after the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed his petition questioning the impeachment court’s action.

“We are considering the filing of a motion for reconsideration, and we are given 15 days from receipt of the resolution. As of today, while this interview is ongoing, we have yet to get a copy of the resolution,” he said.

Rodriguez’s petition questioned the authority of the Senate as an impeachment court to set the specific number of the voting threshold for conviction in impeachment.

The SC En Banc dismissed the petitions filed by Rodriguez, Berteni Causing, and lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. on procedural grounds, including lack of standing and prematurity.

Last week, the Senate impeachment court voted to base the two-thirds vote to convict Duterte on the number of senators who are capable of "legally and factually participating in the impeachment proceedings."

This set aside the July 6 ruling by presiding officer Senator-judge Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who set the votes needed to convict at 16, which is two-thirds of all 24 senators.

Thirteen senator-judges voted in favor of the motion put forward by Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo, who sought reconsideration of the July 6 ruling after some senators became unavailable to participate in the impeachment trial.—AOL, GMA News