Lacson Criticizes Impeachment Court Spokesperson's Remarks on Senator-Judges

Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Saturday called out Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Reginald "Regie" Tongol for his remarks which the lawmaker said may be viewed as admonishing senator-judges for their actions amid the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Lacson said that instead of publicly bringing up such matters on senator-judges' conduct, these can be addressed internally by the lawmakers during a 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," Lacson said in radio interview. "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. In particular, Lacson said it was "uncalled for" that Tongol commented on the Facebook post of Senator Robinhood Padilla, wherein Padilla sought to clarify his questions during the trial regarding his query on the "raw file" of Duterte's live streamed press conference. Lacson reminded that Tongol is the court's spokesperson and not its critic. "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 Senator Padilla for his FB comments," Lacson told radio station dzMM. GMA News has reached out to Tongol regarding the matter, but he has yet to respond as of posting time. Question on rules During his own virtual presscon on Friday, Tongol was asked whether or not Padilla's social media post was covered by the sub judice rule. In response, Tongol cited Rule 18 of the Senate Impeachment Rules, which he said prohibits the disclosure of the merits of the case by senator-judges, House prosecutors, and defense and private counsels. "So 'yun po 'yung malinaw lang sa Senate Impeachment Rules, hindi ko po sinasabi na may paglabag si Senator Robin, hindi po ako senador para mag-make ng determination pong gan'un," Tongol said. (So that is what is clear under the Senate Impeachment Rules. I am not saying Senator Robin committed a violation; I am not a senator to make that kind of determination.) "So I think kung mayroon pong sentimyentong ganoon, it will be coming from one of the senator-judges at baka 'pag napunta po tayo sa puntong 'yun doon natin siguro malalaman kung medyo bibigyan lang ng paalala ng presiding officer," he added. (So I think if there is such a sentiment, it will come from one of the senator-judges. Perhaps if we reach that point, that is when we will know if the presiding officer will issue a reminder.) Even senators In the same press conference, Tongol affirmed that senator-judges are not exempt from the sub judice rule and are, in fact, more "covered" by the same. Saying they have predisposed "biases and prejudices," Tongol said senator-judges are politicians who might express their opinions about the merits of the case. "However, kapag ginawa kasi nila 'yon, ang magiging impresyon sa nangyayari na proceeding ay hindi na magiging patas, parang kaniya-kaniya na sila," Tongol said. (However, if they do that, an impression will be cast that the proceedings are not fair. It's as if they are having a free for all.) "Kaya pinag-iingatan po ng Rules na magkaroon ng ganong impresyon po ang mga senator-judges para 'yung ating publiko ay di mawalan po ng respeto at 'di mawalan po ng kumpyansa sa magiging desisyon ng impeachment court at makita ito na isang fair, unbiased, at impartial na isang tribunal po," he added. (That's why the Rules seek to avoid giving this impression to senator-judges, so that the public would not lose respect and confidence on the decisions of the impeachment court, so that it would be seen as a fair, unbiased, and impartial tribunal.) Responsible enough Nonetheless, Lacson reiterated the responsibility of senator-judges to exercise restraint in their public statements and to avoid creating any perception of bias. "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. According to Lacson, senator-judges might hold a caucus next week to tackle pending motions, including Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's bid to ask the Sandiganbayan to let detained lawmakers like Jinggoy Estrada participate in the trial. — VDV, GMA News