Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo on Monday urged the impeachment court to issue a warning to its spokesperson, Atty. Reginald Tongol, after speaking to the media about the expected date for the verdict in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Tulfo raised the issue during the 33rd day of the impeachment trial, saying Tongol’s remarks that a final verdict could be issued on Dec. 16 led some people to believe that the outcome of the case had already been decided.
“I remember nag-issue kayo ng warning dati sa spokesperson ng prosecution, in the same manner, nag-issue din kayo ng warning sa spokesperson ng defense. Now it’s about time na mag-issue tayo ng warning sa sarili nating spokesperson,” Tulfo told Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero.
Tulfo said several people had contacted him over the weekend after hearing Tongol’s statement about the supposed Dec. 16 verdict.
“Sabi, na-prejudge na niya agad yung outcome ng impeachment,” Tulfo said.
Escudero clarified that the Dec. 16 date was not a final timetable set by the court.
“That is not entirely accurate,” Escudero said, adding that statements about the trial schedule over the weekend were based only on a mathematical computation from the pre-trial order.
Under the pre-trial order, the prosecution had requested 162 trial days while the defense had requested 30 trial dates. Applying those figures to the court calendar could produce a projected timetable, Escudero said.
“But the court, at this point in time, is based on math, not based on the realities on the ground of the trial,” Escudero said. “It may be a working mathematical equation but certainly not based on reality.”
Escudero said the court would instruct Tongol accordingly.
Tulfo, however, said the spokesperson should be admonished, noting that it was not the first time Tongol had made statements that caught the senator-judges by surprise.
“Maraming beses na siyang sumablay, pumalpak. Paulit-ulit na lang,” Tulfo said.
He added that the senator-judges themselves do not always have complete information about the proceedings and should not be preempted by statements from the court spokesperson.
“Mga Senator-judges, mga kasamahan ko there are things na hindi ko alam. Nabubulaga na lang kami kapag nagdakdak siya sa media. Kumbaga inuunahan niya tayo, pini-preempt niya tayo,” Tulfo said.
