Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1784796719194thumbnail-F7m3y2hyWVI-1280x720 (10).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Robin Padilla during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, July 13, 2026, to hear from a new witness on the impeachment articles against the Vice President<em>. Joseph Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The House Prosecution may seek clarification from the Senate impeachment court regarding Sen. Robinhood Padilla’s pronouncement during the Wednesday hearing that the prosecution has “no right to ask a question” from a senator-judge.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/22/padilla-to-prosecution-in-vp-sara-s-impeachment-sana-wag-kayong-one-sided-1720">Padilla to prosecution in VP Sara&#x27;s impeachment: Sana &#x27;wag kayong one-sided</a></div><p>House impeachment prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon wants to know if parties are indeed barred from asking even clarificatory questions from a senator-judge.</p><p>“Magandang makapaglinaw po with the Senate impeachment court kung ‘yan ho ba talaga ‘yung patakaran ng korte… Kung halimbawa hindi ganoon kalinaw ‘yung pagkakatanong po ng senator-judge. Tingin ko naman may karapatan ‘yung atin pong panels, whether defense or prosecution, na humingi at magtanong ng paglilinaw mula po sa mga nagtatanong pong senator-judge,” he said.</p><p>“Papag-usapan muna namin bilang prosecution panel kung will it require a formal manifestation or will it be an oral manifestation or is it something na hindi na dapat bigyan ng mahabang panahon,&quot; he added.</p><p>&quot;Kasi medyo mabigat din po ‘yung binanggit na wala kang karapatang magtanong. And the manner by which it was delivered, medyo mabigat din po. So, I think for the guidance of either party, defense and prosecution, baka very important po to clarify that particular matter,” Ridon also said.</p><p>Ridon added that the rule on neutrality is for the senator-judges. On Wednesday, Padilla called the prosecution “one-sided”.</p><p>“Ang pagkakaalala ko doon sa rules ng Senate impeachment, ‘yun pong political neutrality ay doon po nakaatas sa mga senator-judges. So ibig sabihin… ang bibit-bitin po nila yung pong kanilang trabaho bilang senator-judges para makita nila without bias yung pong bawat piraso ng ebidensya na ilalahad either po ng prosecution or ng defense,” Ridon said.</p><p>“We cannot be neutral since it&#x27;s an adversarial proceedings,” counsel and legal spokesperson for the House Prosecution Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said.</p><p>“Ang position namin d’yan, nakabatay sa malakas na ebidensya itong articles of impeachment na ito. So, ang position namin, we&#x27;re on the side of the truth. Hindi mo siya magkahiwalay na bagay,” he added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SPOKES DUTIES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>There is no decision yet whether Tolosa will give up either his duties as spokesperson or as counsel for the prosecution in the impeachment trial.</p><p>But he gave assurances his statements will avoid touching on the merits of the case to avoid, and “cut back” on his spokesperson duties when it&#x27;s his turn to be on deck.</p><p>“We appreciate the reminder of the Presiding Officer... It was not an admonition, it was just a reminder… Moving forward, just like what we&#x27;ve been doing from the start, we&#x27;ll make sure that all of our statements will not violate the sub judice rule, and it will fall under the exemption which is the doctrine of fair and accurate reporting,” Tolosa said.</p><p>&quot;But siguro, para mas masigurado din natin na hindi magkakaroon ng problema, when it&#x27;s my time to be on deck, I&#x27;m gonna cut back my spokes duties” he added.</p><p>Presiding officer Francis Escudero on Wednesday urged the defense and prosecution teams to appoint a spokesperson who will not also serve as a counsel in the trial. </p><p>He cautioned that the proceeding might soon &quot;take its toll&quot; on their ability to distinguish between the merits of the case and purely procedural observations and/or facts.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sve6s-pwUPE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QuZJD7snwco?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FuagLQYxavw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The House Prosecution may seek clarification from the Senate impeachment court regarding Sen. Robinhood Padilla’s pronouncement during the Wednesday hearing that the prosecution has “no right to ask a question” from a senator-judge.</p>

The House Prosecution may seek clarification from the Senate impeachment court regarding Sen. Robinhood Padilla’s pronouncement during the Wednesday hearing that the prosecution has “no right to ask a question” from a senator-judge.

​Prosecution seeks clarification on Padilla's 'no right to ask' remark

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​Prosecution seeks clarification on Padilla's 'no right to ask' remark

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 23, 2026 05:00 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

impeachment

politics

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Prosecution seeks clarification on Padilla's 'no right to ask' remark

Prosecution seeks clarification on Padilla's 'no right to ask' remark