Impeach court restores ban on discussions vs. Sara

The Senate impeachment court has reinstated the gag order covering all four articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, despite the prosecution having withdrawn three of them, following an appeal from the defense to protect her from trial by publicity.

The sub judice rule prohibits the prosecution, defense, and senator-judges from publicly discussing the merits of the impeachment case, limiting deliberations to proceedings before the impeachment court.

Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero lifted the ban on Articles 1, 3, and 4 on October 13, after the prosecution withdrew the charges shortly before the defense began presenting its counter-evidence.

Article 1 concerns the alleged misuse of confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. Article 3 involves alleged bribery at the DepEd, while Article 4 concerns alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Article 2, which remains pending, accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth.

In a decision dated November 6, Escudero ordered the reinstatement of the sub judice rule across all four articles. This followed a manifestation filed by the defense on November 4, stating that Duterte was not waiving the rule to protect her constitutional rights, as she "remains uninterested in any form of trial by publicity."

The ruling also came after a manifestation filed by Senator-judge Kiko Pangilinan on October 13.

"To prevent any side from litigating dropped charges in the media while the Court tries Article II, the impeachment court ruled that the sub judice ban under Rule XVIII applies with equal force to all articles of impeachment—whether withdrawn or still pending trial," the decision read.

Under the ruling, the prohibition applies to the prosecution, defense, and senator-judges. A first violation will merit a public reprimand and admonition, while a second offense will carry a fine of P30,000 for each violation.

Senator-judges found to have violated the rule may also face an ethics complaint referred by the impeachment court.

The impeachment trial is set to resume on Monday, November 9, following a nearly month-long recess, with the defense beginning its presentation of evidence.

The defense has 26 days to present its counter-evidence on Article 2, the last article examined by the prosecution before it rested its case.

Duterte's lawyers previously criticized the prosecution's decision to withdraw three articles at the last minute, arguing that the move deprived the defense of the opportunity to rebut the allegations and left the accusations uncontested.

Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison described the move as "completely unfair," prompting Pangilinan to support lifting the sub judice restriction to allow the defense to respond publicly to the withdrawn allegations.

Despite this, the defense maintained that the gag order should remain in effect.