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Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero had to step in twice on Wednesday, August 12, as private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan and defense counsel Kristine Ferrer traded heated words during the cross-examination of Commission on Audit (COA) witness Xylene del Campo on the 15th day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.
The exchange started when Kapunan asked the court to instruct Ferrer not to stop the witness from answering mid-sentence. Ferrer countered by asking Escudero to instead direct the witness to answer only with "yes" or "no," reminding Kapunan that she would have time to raise clarificatory questions during redirect.
Kapunan pushed back, arguing that not all questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. When Ferrer insisted such questions are allowed even on cross-examination, Kapunan maintained that misleading questions are barred regardless of what stage the examination is in.
As tensions rose, Escudero urged both lawyers to dial down the exchange, describing what he saw as a "generational divide" between the two. "Counsels, please. Let's not allow the generational divide or seeming generational divide to increase tension in the courtroom. Let's keep it a notch lower," he said.
Kapunan responded in jest, saying she was holding herself back from disciplining Ferrer. "Your honor, please. I am preventing myself from giving her a spanking, your honor. That is what I have done in the generational divide," she said, drawing laughter from the court.
Escudero then reminded both lawyers that they are members of the same bar and would be treated equally by the impeachment court, to which both complied. Kapunan promised she would "behave" going forward.
Ferrer, in an attempt to smooth things over, said she held Kapunan in high regard. "I have high respect for Atty. Kapunan. In fact, she is one of my idols," she said. Both Escudero and Kapunan cut her off before she could finish. "Let's end here. It might sound like a eulogy, your honor. I'm still very much alive," Kapunan said.
The cross-examination continued afterward, with Ferrer pressing del Campo on the Protective Intelligence Operations Reports covering the Office of the Vice President's engagements and intelligence activities for the first to third quarters of 2023.
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Date posted: August 12, 2026 6:02 PM