Defense counsel Mark Vinluan on Monday asked the impeachment court to strike from the record remarks made by House private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia regarding an 11-day gap between a cash withdrawal and the Dec. 31 SALN cutoff date, calling the statements “highly improper” and “unprofessional.”

After Divinagracia remarked, “11 days. Para po pala yung sa confidential funds,” Vinluan raised his objection over what he considered inappropriate commentary.

“This is not a barbershop talk,” Vinluan said during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, objecting to what he described as Divinagracia’s “snide remarks” about the 11-day period.

Vinluan said such remarks were inappropriate in formal impeachment proceedings and asked the court to remove them from the record to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.

The exchange stemmed from Divinagracia’s questioning of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura about a cash withdrawal made on Dec. 20 and its relation to the Dec. 31 cutoff date covered by a SALN.

Divinagracia initially referred to Dec. 31 as the last day for filing a SALN and asked Buenaventura how many days separated the withdrawal from the date.

Vinluan objected, saying the document should speak for itself.

Presiding Officer Francis Escudero clarified that Dec. 31 is not the filing deadline for a SALN, but the cutoff date for transactions and assets that would be covered by the SALN filed the following year.

Buenaventura then said the period between Dec. 20 and Dec. 31 was about 11 days.

Escudero granted the request and ordered the remarks stricken from the record.

“The chair will strike off the remarks of Atty. May,” Escudero said, referring to Divinagracia. He also ordered the references to “barbershop” and “snide” remarks stricken from the record.