MANILA, Philippines – Hindi pa pinagbabawalan ang mga senator-judge na magkomento sa mga isyu na bumabalot sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Sara Duterte, ayon kay impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol.
“I think the presiding officer believes that, whatever happens, preliminarily in the discussion of the issues that are being presented before the court, is healthy for all of our learnings and education as to how this very [highly] democratic process should be done,” sinabi ni Tongol sa isang forum nitong Sabado, Hunyo 21.
“It’s good that there’s freedom to give opinions, whether negative or positive, because the case is only in the preliminaries. The merits of the case are still not here. I think the presiding office does not have a gag order like that,” dagdag pa ni Tongol.
Tinukoy pa niya ang Rule 18 ng Senate Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials.
Sinasabi dito na, “The Presiding Officer and the Members of the Senate shall refrain from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial. The same shall likewise apply to the prosecutors, to the person impeached, and to their respective counsel and witnesses.”
“That’s not lawyering for one party. This is based on our experience as a lawyer, as already corroborated by other lawyers in other fields.”
“It’s good that the senator-judges explain their votes. This is only in the preliminaries. This is uncharted territory technically,” paliwanag ni Tongol. RNT/JGC
