Former Supreme Court chief justice Artemio Panganiban raises a question of fairness over allowing some senators to participate in the voting stage of an impeachment trial while others are present for hearings and review of evidence. In his remarks, he points to senators who are allegedly abroad or in hiding, arguing that they are being given participation in deliberations despite not sharing the same process as their colleagues.
Panganiban frames the issue around whether senators who miss hearings while traveling or conceal their whereabouts should still be allowed to join the voting that would determine outcomes. The reports say he is speaking in his capacity as an opinion writer and as one of four retired Supreme Court justices invited by the Senate Impeachment Court to serve as amici curiae. The discussion centers on voting thresholds for conviction, with his comments focusing on procedural fairness rather than the merits of the underlying allegations.
While both accounts describe the same core concern, the wording differs: one uses sharper phrasing about “dark corners of the world,” while another refers to “tourist spots abroad,” but both describe a similar critique of unequal participation.
