Senator Lacson: Impeachment court spokesperson should not publicly admonish senator-judges

Senator-Judge Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said Saturday that the spokesperson of the Senate Impeachment Court should not publicly admonish or call out senator-judges over alleged violations of the impeachment rules.

Lacson said lawyer Reginald Tongol, who serves as the court's spokesperson, should instead leave concerns such as possible violations of the sub judice rule to the senator-judges themselves, who can address such issues during their internal caucus.

"With due respect to Atty. Tongol, he is the spokesperson of the Impeachment Court and speaks on behalf of the Senator- Judges. He should not make it appear he is cautioning or admonishing us," he said in English and Filipino in an interview on DZMM radio.

“If there are indiscretions committed by a senator-judge, it is best to take it up in an all senator-judges caucus, instead of lecturing in public or during the trial,” he added.

Lacson said Tongol, as the official spokesperson of the impeachment court and the senator-judges, should avoid making public comments on their conduct.

According to Lacson, it was "uncalled for" for Tongol to comment on Sen. Robin Padilla's Facebook post because his role is to represent the court rather than criticize its members.

“It is not in his space to call the attention of senator-judges to adhere to Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, even sounding like he was admonishing Sen. Padilla for his FB comments,” Lacson said.

At the same time, Lacson stressed that senator-judges also have a duty to be careful with their public statements and avoid giving the impression that they favor either the prosecution or the defense.

"As Senator-Judges, we should be responsible enough, and conscious of our statements because we are senator-judges. We cannot make statements in interviews or during the trial that may project leaning towards the prosecution or defense," he said.

Lacson also said the senator-judges may convene another caucus next week to tackle pending matters before the impeachment court, including Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano's proposal to coordinate with the Sandiganbayan so detained senators, including Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, can attend the impeachment trial.

-Paraluman News