Vice President Sara Duterte’s legal team firmly rejected assertions that its frequent formal challenges during the impeachment trial are designed to stall or disrupt the Senate proceedings, clarifying that every legal challenge directly addresses specific queries posed by the prosecution.
During a media briefing on Wednesday, September 2, defense panel deputy spokesperson Atty. Justin Nicol Gular clarified that litigators do not determine a target quota for formal challenges prior to entering the courtroom.
“It’s not the strategy of a lawyer to decide how many objections one will raise on a certain trial date,” Gular said.
He emphasized that the defense reacts exclusively to the nature of the questions posed during the session.
“Our objections and the number of our objections will always depend sa mga tanong nila,” Gular said. “If we find the questions raised by the opposing side objectionable, we raise it and we respect the decision of the presiding officer to sustain it or not,” he added.
Questions surrounding the defense’s court approach surfaced on the 21st day of the trial, which featured the appearance of Atty. Michael Poa on the witness stand.
Poa previously served as an undersecretary and chief of staff at the Department of Education while Duterte led the agency.
Throughout the direct examination led by prosecution counsel Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr., defense attorney Atty. Sheila Sison presented multiple objections, triggering speculation that the defense panel was intentionally executing a slowdown strategy.
Gular dismissed these assumptions, reiterating that the legal panel does not resort to volume-based challenges to impede the opposing counsel’s argument.
“It’s not our strategy to raise voluminous objections on a certain day…it just depends on what comes and what arises during the trial,” Gular said.
He further clarified:
“Hindi naman naming strategy na mag-raise tayo ng objection para ma-derail yung opposing counsel—that was never our intention,” he added.
Gular reaffirmed the defense’s willingness to comply with the impeachment tribunal’s rulings, regardless of the outcome.
“We think it’s fair and, in any day, we will respect the ruling of the impeachment court whether it is for us, whether it be against us,” Gular said.
The defense maintained that it remains fully reliant on the wisdom of the tribunal and the sound discretion of the presiding officer to resolve all issues presented in court.