The call of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano for both the prosecution and the defense to remain fair and impartial during the impeachment trial is a matter that should also apply to the senators themselves, a House private prosecutor said.

In a press conference after the conclusion of the second week of the impeachment trial, Atty. Lorna Kapunan stressed that it was her belief that such a perspective was something that should apply to all parties involved.

“When we talk about balance and when we talk about impartiality, I guess the same standard should apply not only to the prosecutors, not only to the defense but to the senator-judges,” Kapunan said.

Adding on to her point, the veteran lawyer mentioned that the reason she opted for senator-judges to be subjected to the same standard was that the prosecution and the defense were not able to provide their opposition to any sentiment that a senator-judge would have regarding a particular issue on the trial.

Kapunan mentioned that it was not within their right to call out a senator if they overstep by making conclusions and opinions based on where they stand as lawyers for their respective parties.

“This is not to say that we are saying that they are biased. We are saying that we have to have a balance also. Because when the senator-judges make a manifestation, we do not have the right to object,” she said.

“So speaking for myself, if there is a call for balance, we’re throwing back that call as well…I think it is not right that we will keep quiet in court and then we would talk outside,” she added.

The lawyer maintained that the process of impeachment was not a proceeding where technical rules applied, it was a constitutional process.

The sentiments of Kapunan stemmed from the statements of Cayetano, who said that offering reasons as to why the prosecution was withdrawing its witnesses was feeding to the court information that was not necessarily stated by the witnesses themselves.

He said that the “summation” mentioned by the prosecutors, even if the intention was to inform the public, was likewise influencing the minds of the public and their view on the trial.

“I agree with you [Luistro] that this impeachment court people have to know why, but I think we’ve been very lenient, no one except the spokesperson has spoken about the sub judice rule, so you can actually explain it in the press conference afterwards,” he said.

Cayetano reiterated that he agreed that it was important to explain; however, such measures were better reserved for forums aside from the impeachment court.