Twenty-eight votes.

That's how many votes are needed for the House Committee on Justice to move Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment case forward beyond the stage of "formal hearings".

In a radio interview Thursday, ,March 5, committee chairperson, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro said the Vice President will be invited once the formal hearings on the impeachment complaints begin. However, attendance is ultimately up to the respondent.

“Let us understand na ‘yung (that the) presence during the hearing proper is part of her due process. In other words, the prerogative belongs to her. Whether she wants to come or not to come, that is actually her option,” Luistro said.

The lawyer-legislator explained that the hearings would allow the complainants to present witnesses and evidence of their allegations against Duterte.

Luistro went on to explain how the committee vote will work in determining whether or not the impeachment complaints would move forward based on probable cause.

“Majority of all members, regardless of the present and the absent members [are needed],” she said.

The panel is composed of 55 members, including ex-officio members, meaning at least 28 votes are needed to secure the required majority, said Luistro.

Last Wednesday, the panel voted 54–1, with zero abstentions, in separate votes, to determine that the third and fourth impeachment complaints filed against Duterte were sufficient in substance.

The initia stages of the proceedings required only a simple majority of members present during the hearings, provided there was a quorum. But the threshold increases once the committee puts to a vote whether or not sufficient grounds exist to support the impeachment complaints

Luistro said the higher voting requirement reflects the significance of the panel's decision before the case is elevated to the House plenary for further action--that is, to formally impeach Duterte.

'Preliminary investigation'

She noted that the formal hearings stage for the determination of probable cause was comparable to a "preliminary investigation by a prosecutor".

“Kasi dito sa amin probable cause lang (We're only concerned with probable cause here). That is why during our last interview, I was always comparing the proceeding before the justice committee to a preliminary investigation by a prosecutor.

"Kapag nakakita ka ng probable cause file mo na sa court (Once you find probable cause, you can file it to the court) and that court is the Senate but for the purpose of convicting or acquitting the respondent,” she explained.

The Senate is constitutionally mandated to convene into an impeachment court once the House impeaches Duterte and submits the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber.

“It is not the justice committee. It is not the House of Representatives. It is the Senate which is empowered either to acquit or to convict the respondent,” Luistro underscored.