Insults and mockery have no place in any trial, including the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, a member of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said Sunday amid heated exchanges between prosecution and defense lawyers.

Lawyer and former House prosecution panel spokesperson Antonio “Audie” Bucoy said lawyers are bound by professional conduct rules that are strictly enforced by the Supreme Court.

He said, however, that the unique nature of the impeachment trial should give both sides some leeway to explain their positions.

“But given the sui generis character of the current impeachment trial, there should be a little leeway to sufficiently explain one’s side, and what shouldn’t enter into it is mockery. Fellow lawyers should be respected,” Bucoy said.

Bucoy said he had not seen any insults during the proceedings but noted that impeachment rules prohibit prosecution and defense lawyers from commenting on the merits of the case.

Senate trial presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero has warned that the court would cite lawyers who are talking about the merits of the case outside of the trial.

Zip it

“It is prohibited to comment saying, ‘Our evidence is right, theirs is weak’... ‘Theirs is weak because of this or that’ — that is what is prohibited,” Bucoy said.

His remarks came after Vice President Duterte’s lead counsel, Sheila Sison, criticized a social media post by private prosecutor Armando Ligutan during a dispute over misleading questions in cross-examination.

Ligutan posted: “A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart: Misleading questions are not allowed even on cross-examination.”

Sison called the post “in bad taste” and inappropriate toward a fellow member of the Bar.

House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon rejected the defense’s complaint, saying the transcript showed no basis for it.

The House prosecution panel also said any Senate guidelines on public engagement by lawyers should apply to both sides and cover previous incidents, including a statement by Duterte and a spliced video posted online.

In one instance, private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said she was close to giving a defense lawyer a “spanking” for allegedly asking misleading questions on cross-examination.

Duterte faces four articles of impeachment accusing her of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other impeachable offenses.

The charges center on the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, alleged unexplained wealth and discrepancies in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and her 2024 remarks about having arranged for the killing of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself was killed.

The trial has so far covered NBI evidence and testimony on Duterte’s remarks, including questions over the investigation and the absence of a validated assassin.

It then moved to the confidential-funds allegations, with a LandBank official testifying that four P125-million withdrawals were “unusual” but not suspicious.

The Senate has also heard arguments over Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth and the scope of subpoenas for her financial records.