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

In a press conference, Escudero highlighted the limitations of the presiding officer’s powers during impeachment proceedings.

“Wala sa kapangyarihan ng presiding officer ’yon (That is not within the authority of the presiding officer),” Escudero told Senate reporters.

As the Court Presiding Officer in Duterte’s impeachment case, Escudero explained that he had only urged his fellow senators to refrain from making public statements during the campaign period to avoid politicizing the issue.

“Noong kampanya kasi ’yon. Siyempre may mga magtatanong, mangangampanya. Pero ngayong nag-convene na, ang assumption noong binoto sila at naging senador sila—kasama sa pwedeng maging trabaho nila ’yan bilang impeachment court judges (That was during the campaign, when questions and campaigning were expected. But now that they’ve convened, the assumption is that being an impeachment court judge is part of a senator’s duty),” he said.

Escudero emphasized that any issues with public comments should be raised formally through motions in the impeachment court.

“Again, it is addressed to their sound discretion. And kung may mag-motion sa impeachment court, i-aaddress din nila ’yon. Itatanong kasi sa kanila ’yon (And if someone files a motion, the court will address it—they will be asked about it),” he added.

In a television interview last Thursday, Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol defended senator-judges who made statements regarding the case, despite Senate rules suggesting a gag order. He noted that impeachment trials are both legal and political in nature.

"If you look at Rule 18 of the Senate's rules on impeachment, there is actually a gag order to the presiding officer and senator-judges, to prosecutors, and all lawyers involved with parties in the case. However, this is not just a legalistic and judicial process compared to what we see in courts, this is also a political process," Tongol explained, responding to questions about why Escudero, and several other senators were being unusually vocal about their stance on the case.

The Senate’s publicly available Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, last updated in 2023, state in Section 18: “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.”

Still, Tongol said Escudero's policy encourages a “healthy debate” around the proceedings.

“The policy of the presiding officer is to have this healthy debate as early as now 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.

He also stressed that the impeachment court is “sui generis” — a body of its own kind — which allows some flexibility in how the rules are applied.

"That is the beauty of this sui generis court because they are not just tied to the strictly legalistic view of the proceedings or application of law," he said