Senator-judge Robin Padilla stood by his call for the House prosecution panel to avoid partisanship in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, issuing an early morning statement Thursday, July 23, 2026, that framed the duty of prosecutors as a search for truth rather than a pursuit of conviction.
Addressing lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville Luistro directly, Padilla wrote that the role of the prosecution is not to win but to serve the truth and protect the innocent, while the defense exists to safeguard human rights and maintain a balance of power. He described both panels as pillars established to serve a single purpose.
“Ang hustisya po ay neutral!” Padilla said in the statement, timestamped 4:41 a.m. and marked as written at the hour of Fajr prayer.
The senator-judge argued that justice must remain blind to political alliances and deaf to the whispers of power, warning that the moment it takes a side, it ceases to be justice and becomes oppression.
The statement follows an exchange on the ninth day of the trial that drew audible reactions inside the Senate session hall. Padilla had told the prosecution panel, “Sana hindi one-sided ang ating prosecution,” after challenging the qualifications of witnesses presented by the House, among them National Bureau of Investigation Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc and Senior Agent Mark Calilung. He claimed both faced perjury complaints, an assertion Luistro rejected, saying the panel had verified that no cases were pending against either witness.
Earlier in that same exchange, Padilla questioned the reliability of an affidavit attributed to self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas, which surfaced during the testimony of NBI Director Melvin Matibag. Luistro said the document was referenced only to explain how the bureau conducted its investigation into the Vice President’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The remark drew murmurs from the prosecution table and prompted presiding officer Francis Escudero to call for order, with Senate staff raising signs asking for silence. Padilla objected to the interruption on the floor, saying commentary from the gallery was not permitted in a court. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, seated in the front row, apologized to him after the session.
Both lawyers pushed back on the substance of his appeal in a press briefing that followed. Luistro said the proceeding is adversarial by design and that neutrality from the prosecution would be the more surprising outcome. Kapunan said the task of the prosecution is precisely to argue one side, just as the defense is bound to argue the other.
Padilla, a former action star who topped the 2022 Senate race with more than 26.6 million votes, has also cited a legislative measure he filed seeking heavier penalties for perjury, arguing that witnesses who repeatedly change their accounts should face stiffer consequences.
Whether his position gains traction among the other senator-judges will likely be tested when the impeachment court reconvenes and the prosecution moves to present the remainder of its witness list.
