Lacson Proposes On-Site Witnesses to Expedite Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial

Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson on Sunday suggested that witnesses scheduled to testify each week should already be at the Senate premises to avoid unnecessary delays in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. "Actually, sinuggest ko ito bago pa nagsimula ang trial, na kung puwede, iyong nakalinya for one whole week na mga testigo nandoon na sa Senado, sa premises. Para sa gayon, hindi masayang ang oras ng trial," he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. (Actually, I suggested this even before the trial started—that if possible, the witnesses lined up for the entire week should already be at the Senate premises. That way, trial time won't be wasted.) "Kung sakaling mapaaga, puwede na kaming tumawag ng susunod na testigo. Naka-ready na doon. Hindi iyong maga-adjourn kami dahil hindi available," Lacson added. (If proceedings finish earlier than scheduled, we can immediately call the next witness because they're already there and ready. We wouldn't have to adjourn just because someone isn't available.) National Bureau of Investigation Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, who led the investigation into Duterte's public threats, was originally scheduled to testify on July 8. However, House prosecutors moved his appearance to July 12 supposedly as part of their trial strategy. Because he did not appear on his original schedule, the impeachment court adjourned early that day. Lacson said Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who is serving as presiding officer of the impeachment court, was receptive to the proposal. "Open naman si Senator Chiz sa suggestion. Sabi ko, para lang ma-speed up iyong pace, bumilis-bilis iyong pace ng trial. Kasi hindi naman kailangang i-exhaust iyong 11 days para lang sa Article IV, sa inuna naming artikulo," he said. (Senator Chiz was open to the suggestion. I said it was simply to speed up the pace of the trial. We don't need to use up all 11 days just for Article IV, which is the first article we are hearing.) Lacson also said any alleged misconduct by senator-judges should be addressed privately among themselves instead of being discussed publicly by impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol. "Analogy ko doon, hindi ko ma-imagine si Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting pagsabihan ang SC justices na basahin ang Rules of Court. Kaya ako nag-react at sana huwag nang maulit iyan," he said. (My analogy is this: I cannot imagine Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting telling the Supreme Court justices to read the Rules of Court. That's why I reacted, and I hope it doesn't happen again.) "Kung may alleged indiscretions or kapabayaan ng individual senator-judges, puwede naming pag-usapan sa caucus," Lacson added. (If there are alleged indiscretions or negligence by individual senator-judges, we can discuss them in caucus.) Lacson said it would be more appropriate for the impeachment court spokesperson to relay concerns through the presiding officer rather than address senator-judges directly. "O kaya iyong spokesperson, i-remind niya ang presiding officer o Senate President para baka puwede niyang masabihan ang kapwa senator-judge. Pero para manggaling sa kanya, sa akin, hindi magandang pangitain," he added. (Or the spokesperson could remind the presiding officer or the Senate President so he could speak to the senator-judge concerned. But for such a reminder to come directly from the spokesperson, to me, that is not a good sign.)— MCG, GMA News