Only 21 senators eligible to vote in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial

In an interview, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio stated that only 21 senators qualify as judges for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. He argued that senators who are detained, have not been sworn in, or are under preventive suspension for non-bailable offenses such as anti-graft or anti-plunder violations must be excluded from the denominator used to calculate the two-thirds vote required for conviction.

Carpio pointed to Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada, both facing plunder charges, as automatically suspended, and highlighted that Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa has not taken his oath since May 14. Former chief justices Reynato Puno, Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban and former Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna served as amici curiae, offering expert opinions on the constitutional voting requirement. Law professor Rodel Taton urged the senator-judges to base their decision on evidence rather than political allegiance, emphasizing the public-funds dimension of the case.