Garin: Why focus on Luistro's saliva?

House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin defended House public prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro after the latter was mocked online over visible saliva during her opening statement at the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the criticism was unnecessary and amounted to bullying.

"Firstly, again, I was surprised. Why are we even going to that low of a discourse? No person has no saliva," Garin said during a press conference at the House of Representatives on Friday, 10 July.

"Is it normal? Yes! So why focus on that?" she added.

The former Health secretary also refuted claims made by one of her colleagues that visible saliva and a runny nose could be linked to lying.

Garin said such assertions only distract the public from the real issues and the performance of both the prosecution panel and Duterte's defense team during the impeachment proceedings.

"Let's talk about it. If I get a runny nose, is that something criminal? Every person has saliva because that's part of digestion," she said.

"It's actually bullying. The prosecutors are just doing their job," she added.

Garin explained that visible saliva may simply be a sign of dehydration, while a runny nose is commonly associated with a viral infection.

She said the medical community has never established any connection between those conditions and dishonesty, urging the public to carefully evaluate information circulating online.

Labeling the attacks as bullying, Garin reiterated that discussions surrounding the Vice President's impeachment should remain focused on the merits of the trial rather than personal attacks.

"It is an insult to us doctors to say that a runny nose and having saliva are symptoms of lying," she said.