House private prosecutor Atty. Amando Ligutan on Wednesday clarified that his Facebook post about “misleading questions” was not directed at Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team but was meant to reiterate a rule of law and cross-examination.

Ligutan made the clarification during the impeachment trial of Duterte, after the defense raised his Aug. 12 Facebook post, which said: “A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart. Misleading questions are not allowed, even on cross-examination.”

The defense had linked the post to a heated exchange during the trial that morning involving opposing counsel.

Ligutan said the post was not personal and did not name anyone.

“To the defense, I shall not name names. I will not put you on the spot. But the post is not about you. It’s not personal. It is about the law that we all adhere to,” Ligutan said.

He said he posted the statement because he was concerned that a remark made in open court that misleading questions are allowed would go uncorrected.

“My teacher’s instinct kicked in,” said Ligutan, who said he has been a lawyer for almost 16 years and an educator for nearly 20 years.

“I was concerned that the statement made in open court that misleading questions are allowed will go unchecked,” he said.

Ligutan argued that correcting a legal error is not prohibited simply because an impeachment hearing is ongoing.

“Correcting a mistake is never wrong,” he said. “Doing it while a hearing is ongoing online does not make it not right.”

He also rejected the defense’s characterization of the post as troubling or in bad taste because he was a prosecution lawyer participating in the trial.

He maintained that his post did not discuss the merits of the impeachment case, the strength or weakness of either side’s arguments, or the evidence presented.

“I only stated without mentioning any name using the most neutral of font color and background, black and gray, without adding any emoticon, without splicing anything,” he said.

Ligutan said the prosecution also has rights, including his freedom to teach and explain legal principles.

“I for one did not surrender my freedom to teach and to enlighten when I decided to participate in this trial,” he said.

“Patuloy akong magiging guro kahit sa loob ng impeachment court na ito,” he added.

Ligutan also pushed back against the defense’s call for humility, saying his background had taught him the value of being humble.

He said he came from Leyte, Samar and Cebu and a middle-income family, and had to compete for his place in Manila without the advantage of a prominent family name.

“I know a thing or two about humility. The defense cannot lecture me on humility,” Ligutan said.

He argued that refusing to acknowledge a mistake, or criticizing someone for pointing it out, was contrary to humility.

“If there’s somebody who needs to be reminded about humility, it’s them, the defense. It is the opposite of humility. It is pride not to admit a mistake or worse, call out someone who simply corrected that mistake,” he said.

The issue arose during the Aug. 12 impeachment hearing, when Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero urged private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan and defense counsel Kristine Ferrer to tone down their exchange over cross-examination rules, particularly misleading questions.

Duterte’s lead counsel, Atty. Sheila Sison, later criticized Ligutan’s online post about misleading questions during the impeachment trial.