Senator-judges urged to stay impartial, but rules set no penalties

MANILA, Philippines — While they are barred from discussing the merits of a case, no senator-judges could be sanctioned based on the existing impeachment rules.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian indicated this on Thursday when asked in a radio interview whether a senator-judge could be penalized for discussing the merits of the case outside the court.

“The impeachment rules do not specifically provide for that because the Senate expects its senators to be careful with what they say and to abide by the impeachment rules,” Gatchalian said when asked about it over DZRH.

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“So that is our appeal and reminder to our senator-judges: remain impartial, refrain from discussing the merits of the case, and abide by the impeachment rules,” he said.

Under the rules, the presiding officer, senator-judges and all parties involved are prohibited from making any comments and disclosures in public pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.

The Senate chief said he hopes those covered  by the prohibition would “regulate” themselves by remaining impartial in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“We should not give any indication that would lead people to believe we are taking sides,” he added.

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At this point, however, Gatchalian said it  was too early to assess what people think of the senator-judges after only six days of trial.

The Senate chief believes the proceedings, which started on July 6, could run for 102 days. /mr

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