Rowegie Abanto

Senator-judges listen to the testimony of Supervising Auditor Xylene Mae del Campo of the Commission on Audit – Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) as she takes the witness stand on the 14th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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<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/178667675402620260811-senate-impeachment-day14-xylene-del-campo-MT8.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Presiding officer Francis Escudero will issue a ruling on Monday next week on the violations of the Rule 18 of the Senate Impeachment Rules, which touches on the sub judice rule. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span>MANILA — It is &quot;high time&quot; for impeachment trial presiding officer Francis Escudero to clarify the sub judice rule that prohibits counsels and members of the court from publicly discussing the merits of a case, lawyer Justin Gular, deputy spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s defense team, said Friday.</div><p>Escudero is expected to issue a ruling on Monday, Aug. 17 on alleged violations of the Rule 18 of the Senate impeachment rules, which touches on the sub judice rule.</p><p>&quot;I think it&#x27;s high time that the parties are reminded to respect Rule 18. It&#x27;s high time for the impeachment court as well, with all respect to the impeachment court, to clarify the guidelines that we should follow,&quot; Gular said.</p><p>&quot;Because I trust that the defense, and even the spokespersons from the prosecution, or even the members of the prosecution, once a clear guideline is set, people will follow.&quot;</p><p>The defense team on Wednesday <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/12/sheila-sison-castigates-amando-ligutan-over-socmed-post-on-misleading-questions-1736">raised concern over a Facebook post of counsel for prosecutors Amando Ligutan</a> that seemingly alluded to a point of contention about &quot;misleading&quot; questions during cross-examination on that day.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/12/ligutan-maintains-no-malice-with-social-media-post-on-misleading-questions-1752">Ligutan maintains ‘no malice, nothing illegal’ with social media post about misleading questions</a></div><p>The defense alleged that the social media post could be a violation of the sub judice rule, a claim Ligutan rejected.</p><p>&quot;I asked the clerk of court to monitor the public statements of the counsels of the parties this past week, and one side has been crossing the line many, many times,&quot; Escudero said following the manifestation of lead defense counsel Sheila Sison.</p><p>Gular said the defense team did not file a formal motion against Ligutan&#x27;s social media statement because they trust the court&#x27;s discernment and prudent judgement on the issue.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/13/impeach-court-spox-explains-penalties-vs-lawyers-who-violate-sub-judice-rule-1603">Impeach court spox explains penalties vs lawyers who violate sub judice rule</a></div><p>He added that they did not want to preempt any ruling coming from the Senate impeachment court as to what constitutes a violation of the sub judice rule.</p><p>&quot;Everyone, I think, is [in] agreement that [while] there is a clear parameter as to the prohibition for us to discuss the merits of the case, other lines are blurred... But coming from the defense, we have always been respectful of this rule,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/13/sub-judice-other-impeachment-rules-should-be-applied-equally-1649">Sub judice rule should be applied equally, including Sara Duterte, senator-judges — Prosecution</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong><strong>:</strong></div><div><strong><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/II__lI6UovQ?&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/kkgClF1AFEU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>It is "high time" for trial presiding officer Francis Escudero to clarify the rules on sub judice which prohibits counsels and members of the court from publicly discussing the merits of a case, lawyer Justin Gular, deputy spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team, said Friday.</p>

It is "high time" for trial presiding officer Francis Escudero to clarify the rules on sub judice which prohibits counsels and members of the court from publicly discussing the merits of a case, lawyer Justin Gular, deputy spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team, said Friday.

'High time' for Senate court to clarify sub judice rule: defense spox

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'High time' for Senate court to clarify sub judice rule: defense spox

ABS-CBN News

Published August 14, 2026 11:21 AM PHT

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