Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged his fellow senator-judges and the public to exercise patience as heated exchanges broke out between legal counsel during the 21st day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
The presiding officer made the plea following a tense debate between prosecution lawyer Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. and defense lead counsel Atty. Sheila Sison, which occurred while defense team member Atty. Michael Poa was on the stand testifying regarding confidential funds.
“Para sa kaalaman din po ng kapwa ko senator-judges at mga sumusubaybay, mahirap na nga po na may dalawang abogadong nagkakaroon ng tagisan ng talino, gawin pa nating tatlo. Kaya pag-unawa lang po at pasensya ang hinihiling namin,” Escudero stated.
“Parte po ito ng proseso para mapangalagaan hindi lamang ang karapatan ng respondent, pero pati ng testigo,” he added.
The court officially designated Poa as a hostile witness on Wednesday after he was summoned by the House prosecution panel. Poa previously served as undersecretary, chief of staff, and spokesperson for the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as Education Secretary.
Tempers escalated during direct examination when Tolosa alleged that the Vice President had designated Poa as “the man who knew nothing” when dealing with state auditors.
Sison quickly objected to the characterization, countering that Tolosa’s claims “sound really just rhetoric aimed to provide drama in this proceeding.”
Addressing the dispute, Escudero noted that he was finding it difficult to keep track of the arguments amid the persistent back-and-forth between the two counsels.
He subsequently ordered the phrase “abogadong walang alam” stricken from the official court records.
The legal teams also clashed during the session over the propriety of presenting video replays from earlier proceedings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.