Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday, June 17, pushed back against calls for some senator-judges to inhibit themselves from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, stating that doing so would allow them to avoid taking a clear stand on the case.

“Kapag inhibit nakakalusot pa siya eh. Di na niya kailangan sabihin kung ano yung posisyon niya, guilty ba or not guilty. Naexcuse pa siya, tapos yung kanyang absence ay pabor pa sa not guilty (When someone inhibits, they get away with it. They don’t have to reveal their position—whether they believe the person is guilty or not guilty. They’re excused, and their absence ends up favoring a not guilty outcome),” Pimentel said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.

Pimentel explained that the framers of the Constitution could have chosen another body to be the impeachment court, but they still chose the Senate, adding that the senators who will act as judges should see the process through to the end, so that they can state their decision and then let the people judge each senator’s decision.

When asked about the basis of conviction, Pimentel said that the logical answer is that, based on the wording of the Constitution, all the members of the Senate must be counted, and two-thirds of them must say guilty before we can it can be said that the impeached officer is convicted.

So if there’s a senator who is absent, sick, has a stomach issue, is abroad, inhibited, is present but refuses to speak or explain, is asked 'guilty or not guilty' but stays silent—all of those are not counted as saying 'guilty', he said in Filipino.

What we count are those who actually say the word 'guilty.' We don’t count those who say 'not guilty'—that’s not what matters. What matters is how many say 'guilty', he added.

Asked whether abstentions or non-participation favor the defense, Pimentel clarified: “Abstention di nagsalita ng guilty, so di mabibilang sa pagbilang natin ng guilty at kailangan 16 para masabi nating naconvict (An abstention doesn't express 'guilty,' so it won’t be counted when we tally the votes for guilt—and we need 16 to say 'guilty' in order to declare a conviction).”

For Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, recusal or inhibition of a senator-judge in an impeachment proceeding cannot happen unless the senator is removed officially through an ethics case or disciplinary proceeding conducted by the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges.

He pointed this out as he rejected mounting calls for Senators Imee Marcos, Robinhood “Robin” Padilla, and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to self-inhibit from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte due to perceptions of bias.