Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio on Friday rejected as “preposterous” the call made by advocacy group Tindig Pilipinas for some senators to inhibit themselves from the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Topacio, who was recently designated as PDP-Laban’s spokesperson for impeachment matters, criticized the group for addressing its concerns through media channels instead of proper legal procedure.
“There is no such thing anywhere in the known universe as filing of motions by press release,” he told reporters.
The lawyer argued that if Tindig Pilipinas’s logic were followed to its “absurd consequences,” the impeachment court could not function at all.
“If they say that those who moved for the remand of the case are ‘biased,’ then all 18 senators who voted for the remand may also be labeled as biased,” he said, noting that such a move would strip the court of the quorum needed to either convict or acquit.
Topacio added that the group’s logic could be applied to House lawmakers as well, suggesting that those affiliated with what he described as a “broad chop suey coalition” who voted to impeach the vice president would also need to recuse themselves.
“That will reduce the impeachment tribunal to almost no members,” Topacio said. “That’s how preposterous.”
Tindig Pilipinas earlier accused Vice President Duterte’s Senate allies of trying to “sabotage the impeachment proceedings,” naming Senators Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and urging them to inhibit when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court in the 20th Congress.