Former Senate President Franklin Drilon said some members of the Senate showed their political colors in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial from day 1 and reminded them that they should at least make the effort to appear impartial.
While the Impeachment Court bars untoward comments from counsel that invite anger or ridicule of the impeachment proceedings, Drilon said that the senator-judges should also be conscious that the people look to them for guidance, which is why impartiality is needed.
But he said that from what he has seen so far, some senator-judges have already made their verdict clear, and this does not serve the public interest.
“Unfortunately, some of the senator-judges have shown their color from day one. And that is not good,” he said on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “On Point.”
He said the senator-judges should exert effort to show that they are not biased and that they are listening to the evidence before they render judgment.
This would support public confidence in the constitutional process of impeachment, he said.
“You may have already your political inclinations, but for public interest, you should not make it obvious that you already made a decision,” he said.
He reminded senator-judges that this is part of their duty to show impartiality when asking questions in court.
“Exert effort to show neutrality because this is a process that our Constitution has required to exact accountability from high officials in government,” he added.
Drilon said the Presiding Officer, Sen. Francis Escudero, cannot call out his colleagues or tell them what not to say.
He said the remedy is political and they would be made to answer for their actions during the elections.
Escudero has reminded senator-judges to be impartial and politically neutral in the case and to avoid unparliamentary and offensive remarks.
He also said complaints about a senator’s actions is a matter to be brought before the Senate ethics committee. It will not be taken up within this Impeachment Court so as not to divert its attention from the case.