Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero clarified that he does not have the authority to issue a “gag order” to prevent the senator-judges from making statements about the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a press conference on Monday, Escudero highlighted the limitations of the presiding officer’s official powers in the impeachment proceedings.

“That is not within the authority of the presiding officer,” Escudero said in Filipino.

Escudero, the presiding officer of the Senate trial court that will hear Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case, said he only urged his fellow senators to refrain from making statements during the recent campaign period to avoid the issue being used against the senatorial candidates.

“That was during the campaign. Of course, there were people who asked questions during the campaign. But now that the court has been convened, the assumption is that since they were elected and became senators, being impeachment court judges is part of their possible duties,” he said.

Escudero pointed out that any issues regarding senators’ public remarks should be formally raised through motions before the impeachment court, where the senator-judges can respond accordingly.

“Again, it’s up to their sound discretion. And if someone files a motion in the impeachment court, they’ll have to address it. They’ll be asked about it,” he said.

‘Beauty’ of impeach trials

In a television interview last Thursday, Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol defended senator-judges who have spoken publicly about the Vice President’s case despite Senate rules suggesting a gag order. He said this openness was part of the “beauty” of impeachment trials.

“If you look at Rule 18 of the Senate’s impeachment rules, there’s technically a gag order covering the presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, and lawyers involved. But this isn’t purely a judicial process like we see in courts—it’s also a political process,” Tongol said when he was asked why Escudero and the other senators were being unusually vocal about the case.

Section 18 of the Senate’s Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, last updated in 2023, states that “the Presiding Officer and the Members of the Senate shall refrain from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.”

Tongol said Escudero’s remarks were meant to encourage “healthy debate” surrounding the proceedings.

“The policy of the presiding officer is to have this healthy debate this early and to allow democratic, fair comments on matters of public concern happening in real time. I think this is a positive view for all of us who are students of democracy,” he said.

Tongol also pointed out that the flexibility of the rules is part of the “beauty” of the impeachment court, which is “sui generis,” meaning a court “of its own kind.”

“That is the beauty of this sui generis court because they (senator-judges) are not just tied to the strictly legalistic view of the proceedings or the application of law,” he said.