Ping slams Panelo over 'pusakal' remarks amid looming VP trial; Panelo fires back: Don’t be 'onion-skinned'

Senator Ping Lacson lost his cool at former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, calling him a “ungas” (dumb) for preempting that he and three other senators will likely vote in favor of the conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte if her impeachment case reaches the Senate for trial.

Lacson, who will sit as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial, strongly rebuked Panelo’s remarks as “complete nonsense,” arguing that they would “gain nothing” by making the allegations.

Aside from Lacson, Panelo also explicitly tagged Senate President Tito Sotto and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan, who are likely to make biased decisions to convict the VP of the charges brought against her by the House of Representatives.

“Why is Panelo trying to sound smarter than us? No one can speak on my behalf. And I have said this before—we'll always be guided by the evidence,” Lacson partly in Filipino in a digital show late Friday.

“He isn't just a feral dog. He's a dumb,” he added.

Furthermore, he argued that it’s not for Panelo to make such an assumption.

Panelo, in response, argued that his statement was solely based on Lacson’s “anti-Duterte” demeanor, which he insisted was very evident to the public.

“A public official can not be onion-skinned. If he does not agree with my opinion, he can say so, but lacing his response with insult and personal attack is a mark of idiocy, not dumbness,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE

“He does not like my being critical of his hypocritical positions as a senator, which I have expressed in my commentaries. If he can not withstand the heat in the kitchen, he should leave it,” he added.

The senator took strong offense at Panelo calling them “pusakal” and insinuated that, as “critics” of the VP, they would likely hand down a guilty verdict against her, which could result in perpetual disqualification from holding public office and derail her bid for the presidency.

Recall that Duterte announced plans to seek the highest office in February, at a time when a new set of impeachment complaints was being prepared in the House.

She is facing allegations of betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, primarily related to the alleged questionable use of P650 million in confidential funds under the OVP and the Department of Education during her stint as its secretary from mid-2022 to June 2024.

Of the amount, P73.3 million was flagged by state auditors, and a notice of disallowance has already been issued for the return of the funds.

The P73.3 million in disallowed expenses forms part of the P125 million in secret funds that the OVP spent in 11 days in December 2022, though the VP’s accuser and alleged former aide, Ramil Madriaga, claimed it was disbursed in less than 24 hours.

Lacson asserted that the chances of them making unfair decisions or being partial against the VP are slim, given that they would be under intense public scrutiny during the trial, which would be televised and livestreamed.

He assured that any conclusion would be based solely on the evidence the prosecutors had.

“We are capable of discernment, so he should not prejudge us. It is complete nonsense to say four senators are sure to convict the Vice President," he said.

Panelo, although not part of the defense, asserted that the VP has been ready all along to face the looming trial in the Senate.

He derided the ongoing proceedings in the House, saying lawmakers who are critics of the VP are exploiting it as a forum to tarnish her reputation ahead of the 2028 national polls.

VP Duterte has long claimed that the impeachment proceedings against her are politically motivated, aimed at undermining her ambitions to succeed his former ally-turned foe, President Marcos Jr.

Recently, she sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to block the impeachment proceedings against her anew, but the high court did not issue a temporary restraining order, allowing House hearings to proceed.