Impeachment Court spokesperson Regie Tongol denied speculation that Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero opposed the testimony of former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial, and warned that lawyers making such a baseless claim could be disciplined by the Supreme Court.
In a press briefing, Tongol said it is easy to make up stories but hard to prove these claims.
“Alam natin na yung mga iba diyan ay mga abogado na nagpapakalat ng mga kwentong ganun, So magbasa po sila ng canons nila for professional responsibility and accountability that lawyers should not engage in misleading or untruthful statements,” Tongol said.
“So mag ingat ingat po sila kung gusto po nilang hindi magpatuloy yung suspension to disbarment,” he added.
This was a general statement for all lawyers, he added.
He also said the court is not stopping the presentation of Trillanes.
According to him, the non-issuance of subpoena for Trillanes was due to prosecution not including his name in the request.
Escudero, on Tuesday, said the Impeachment Court will not issue a subpoena for Trillanes yet because his testimony is related to bank records that have not been presented yet.
Escudero said the court cannot prevent the prosecution from calling Trillanes voluntarily, but he asked it to take under advisement his observation that it cannot put the cart ahead of the horse. He said it would be best if the prosecution presents the AMLC officer, bank officials, or records first.
On Thursday, Trillanes said he chose to withdraw as a witness in the impeachment trial so that the prosecution panel “would be relieved from the pressure it is going through.”
Prior to this, he responded to a post on X from Jesus Falcis that it seemed that Escudero did not want him to testify.
Trillanes said he hoped it was not true.
“I have a lot of new heavy evidence that I will release against Sara. Let the Senator-judges and the people decide whether these are significant or not,” he said.
But after announcing his withdrawal as a witness, he said he would hold a press conference instead.