Impeachment court restores gag order
In the run-up to the resumption of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, the Senate impeachment court has reinstated the gag order on the four articles of impeachment, despite the prosecution having withdrawn three articles, after the defense asked that their client be shielded from a trial by publicity.
The defense team will have its turn to present its evidence on 9 November following a nearly one-month break.
The sub judice rule was enforced to prohibit the prosecution and the defense, including the senator-judges, from discussing the merits of the impeachment case before the public, strictly limiting the discussion within the impeachment court.
Senator-judges who violate the ban may face an ethics complaint.
Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero lifted the ban on Articles 1, 3 and 4 on 13 October after the prosecution dropped the articles before the defense could start its presentation.
Articles 1, 3 and 4 center on the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, alleged bribery in the DepEd, and alleged grave threats to the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, respectively.
Article 2, which was retained, is also covered by the sub judice rule. It accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth.
No exemption
In a decision on 6 November, Escudero ordered the reinstatement of the sub judice rule across all the articles. The explanation was that barring the public discussion of the allegations was prompted by the defense filing a manifestation that Duterte was not waiving the rule to preserve her constitutional rights, noting that “she remains uninterested in any form of trial by publicity.”
The decision also follows a manifestation by Senator-judge Kiko Pangilinan on 13 October.
“To prevent any side from litigating dropped charges in the media while the Court tries Article 2, the impeachment court ruled that the sub judice ban under Rule 18 applies with equal force to all articles of impeachment — whether withdrawn or still pending trial,” the decision read.
The sub judice rule applies to the defense, the prosecution and even the senator-judges, with a public reprimand and admonition for a first offense and a P30,000 fine for a second violation.
The defense has 26 days to present its counter-evidence on Article 2, the last case the prosecution presented before resting its case.
Duterte’s lawyers rebuked the prosecution for dropping the three articles at the last minute, arguing that this effectively deprived them of the chance to rebut and allowed the allegations leveled against her to go uncontested.