A sharp rebuke from the bench cut through Wednesday’s session of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, after Senator-judge Robin Padilla accused members of the House prosecution panel of disrupting him mid-question.
“They are not allowed to make noise. This is a court. I was interrupted,” Padilla said, according to a report by INQUIRER.net.
The commotion broke out as the senator-judge pressed the prosecution over its first two witnesses and remarked that he hoped the panel would not be “one-sided.” Puzzled looks and murmurs spread across the prosecutors’ table, per INQUIRER.net’s account of the proceedings. Rep. Ysabel Zamora appeared to hold back laughter, counsel Lorna Kapunan brought her palms together over her face, and counsel Amando Ligutan spread his hands apart as though signaling he could not follow what was being asked.
Padilla’s objection stemmed from his request that the prosecution keep off the stand anyone with a pending legal matter. He named National Bureau of Investigation Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc and NBI senior agent John Mark Calilung.
“I hope we can avoid providing witnesses who have perjury charges… What I am talking about is our two beloved witnesses, Atty. Jeremy Lotoc and NBI agent Calilung, who are currently facing perjury cases,” he told the prosecutors.
House prosecution lead counsel Rep. Gerville Luistro pushed back on both the law and the facts. She said a criminal record does not by itself strip a person of the capacity to testify: “Conviction is not a ground for disqualification, unless it is final, and unless it is punishable by more than one year, and that the crime constitutes moral turpitude.”
Luistro added that the panel had already looked into the standing of the individuals named. “We were able to verify already that there are no cases pending against the prosecution witnesses,” she said.
Resuming his questioning after the outburst, Padilla likened the situation to senators facing charges who are barred from taking part in the trial. Luistro asked him to clarify what he was driving at. He refused, telling her, “You have no right to ask,” then abandoned the line of inquiry and moved to a different subject.
Lotoc has said in earlier testimony that he has faced cases before, describing it as a routine hazard of serving as an NBI agent.
