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Vice President Sara Duterte's lead defense counsel, Atty. Sheila Sison, called out a social media post by private prosecutor Atty. Amando Ligutan, saying it touched on the merits of the ongoing impeachment trial.
The post in question was related to the earlier exchange between defense counsel Kristine Ferrer and private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, where Ferrer argued that misleading questions are allowed during cross-examination.
"This was posted at 11:29 AM by one of the private prosecutors, Atty. Amando Ligutan, posting that, 'A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart: Misleading questions are not allowed even on cross-examination,'" Sison said.
Sison argued that the impeachment court is also a court of decorum, and that Rule 18 of the Senate Impeachment Rules prohibits participants, especially lawyers, from commenting on the merits of the case. "As far as I am concerned, Impeachment Court is also a court of decorum and the rules of impeachment under Rule 18 actually prohibits participants, especially lawyers, from commenting about the merits of the case," she said.
Rule 18 states that the presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, and counsels are barred from making public comments or disclosures pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.
The issue comes as Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol earlier said that Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero is preparing a ruling on violations of the impeachment rules, particularly on posting or commenting about the case. Tongol said penalties for such violations could range from reprimand and fines to detention through a finding of direct or indirect contempt.
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Date posted: August 12, 2026 6:07 PM