Manila, Sept. 16 -- Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno rejected on Wednesday a literal reading of the Constitution that would fix at 16 the votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the count may change depending on certain factors.

"If we give this kind of reading to Article 11, Section 3(6), the threshold of 16 Senators to convict will be fixed and immutable. However, if that is the intent, Article 11, Section 3(6) should have simply stated that the number of votes to convict is 16, period," Puno said before the Senate impeachment court.

He pointed to the wording of Article XI, Section 3(6), which requires the concurrence of two-thirds of all Senate members for conviction. The provision states a fraction rather than ...