Lacson urges impeachment parties to avoid discussing case merits

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MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Friday urged the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to advise both the prosecution and defense panels to refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the case against Vice President Sara Duterte before the trial begins.

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According to Lacson, “(E)ven before the impeachment trial begins on July 6, a separate trial before the bar of public opinion is already ongoing.”

“The impeachment court should advise both the prosecution and defense panels to refrain from openly commenting on the merits of the case at bar,” he added in a post on X.

READ: VP impeachment pretrial wraps up on fifth day

Responding to a social media user who said the public should still be informed about the impeachment process to avoid misinformation and propaganda, Lacson clarified that his appeal was limited to comments on the substance of the case and did not extend to procedural matters.

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“My concern is only with the merits of the case; it has nothing to do with the process and other similar points of information that the public may appreciate,” he said.

READ: 92 trial days needed for presentation of evidence, impeachment court told

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Lacson’s statement came a day after the impeachment court concluded its five-day closed-door pretrial conference.

During the pretrial, the House prosecution panel filed a manifestation that included requests to open the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box purportedly containing the vice president and her husband’s tax records, authorize both public and private prosecutors to examine each witness during trial, adopt Filipino and English as the official languages of the trial, and require a three-day notice for additional witnesses not in the pretrial brief.

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The defense team earlier said it would submit its formal comment on the prosecution’s manifestations before the impeachment court by Friday./dp