Public prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon said Monday that he would be more committed to “exercise greater restraint” when it came to his public statements concerning the ongoing impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“The Senate impeachment court issued a stern warning against me. We welcome this warning. I thank the Senate impeachment court for their graciousness on this matter. We are committed to exercise greater restraint on particular details of the impeachment proceedings,” Ridon stated.

The statement of the lawmaker came after the impeachment court issued its official ruling on the show cause order that was handed to him on 17 September for alleged violations of the tribunal’s sub judice rules.

Aside from Ridon, private prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa was also summoned for his own public remarks regarding the ongoing proceedings.

Asked whether the court’s ruling was tantamount to a first offense, he clarified that the decision was merely a “stern warning.”

“This is a stern warning so it is not an admonishment, it is not a fine,” the lawmaker said.

Ridon explained that the court had advised him to exhibit carefulness when it came to explaining the impeachment to the public, so as not to dwell into the merits of the case.

Presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero earlier implemented stricter restrictions on individuals that were participating in the impeachment in observance of the sub judice rule.

Escudero noted that there would be a team that would be monitoring the public statements of all parties to ensure compliance and that show cause orders would be handed to whoever violated the ruling.

If found guilty, the impeachment court would admonish the lawyer in open court. Subsequent violations of the provision would also subject a lawyer to a P30,000 fine per offense and restrictions on their ability to participate in the trial.

Since establishing the ruling last August, Ridon and Tolosa have been the only lawyers that have been summoned to explain their statements.

With the sanctions against the prosecution, lawmakers and private prosecutors alike have called on the court to investigate and implement a similar punishment against Duterte, who they said has made multiple statements challenging the integrity of the court.

In one of her recent interviews, the Vice President labeled the impeachment court as “zarzuela” with the belief that the proceedings were being manipulated to persecute her.

Duterte also previously alleged that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was controlling senators to ensure that she would be convicted and dismissed from office.

Ridon, for his part, said that he would let the impeachment court decide on the issue while also quipping at the allegations of the Vice President against the court.

“We are not dancing, so there is no zarzuela here. This is a serious pursuit for accountability. So this is not a show, this is not a play,” he expressed.