Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan on Tuesday called lead defense counsel Sheila Sison a “bully,” over her alleged use of the terms “persecution,” “accused” and “denial of due process” in her manifestations during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
“Because of my years of practice, I know what bullying is. I am a defender of those who are victims of bullying, and that’s exactly what the head defense counsel always does to us,” Kapunan said in a press briefing.
“She bullies us and inserts into her manifestations words like persecution, words like accused, words like denial of due process, words like there is no fairness and justice here,” she added.
“She is a bully, and there's no place for bullying in the Senate impeachment court,” Kapunan stressed.
Kapunan also accused Sison of disrespecting not only the prosecution team but also the senator-judges presiding over the impeachment proceedings.
“Hindi lang bullying, gagamitin ko na yung bastos,” Kapunan said. “Binabastos niya hindi lang ang prosecution pati ang senator-judges to remind them as she did today they took an oath of fairness and justice. But they also took an oath of political neutrality.“
Earlier, Sison criticized the prosecution’s decision to withdraw three articles of impeachment, describing the move as unfair and warning of the possibility of a mistrial.
