The Akbayan Party-list criticized Senator Pia Cayetano on Saturday, accusing her of “trolling” the House prosecution team and distorting an exchange from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The pushback followed a Facebook video posted by Cayetano, which highlighted a segment of questioning between her brother, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, a member of the House prosecution panel.
In a social media statement, Akbayan asserted that the senator edited the footage to misrepresent the actual proceedings.
“Ang abogadong may argumentong pilipit, sa spliced video kumakapit,” the party-list said.
“Dahil nasoplak ni… Diokno ang magkapatid na senator-judge, pilit nilang binabaluktot ang kwento. Ang sad, noh? Move on na po. Better luck next time. ‘That’s just how it is,’” it added.
The group also called out Cayetano’s impartiality as a senator-judge, arguing that her post closely aligned with the defense’s narrative.
“Pero ang mas nakakalungkot, ganito ang content ng isang senator-judge. Linyang-linya sa kampo ni Sara,” it added.
The exchange occurred during the July 20 impeachment trial hearing, where the Cayetano siblings questioned Diokno regarding the legal grounds for subpoenaing Vice President Duterte’s bank, tax, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records.
The questioning came after the Senate impeachment court partially granted the prosecution’s request to examine the financial records of Duterte, her husband Atty. Mans Carpio, and affiliated entities.
The requested documents relate to Article II of the articles of impeachment, which accuses the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust involving alleged unexplained wealth.