A senator-judge who makes a motion to dismiss an impeachment case will invite public ridicule, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said.

Lacson, in an interview on Sunday, said a senator-judge cannot just move to dismiss an impeachment case that the Senate as an impeachment court is going to try.

“Maliwanag ako dun, hindi pwedeng mag-move to dismiss ang isang senator judge kasi hwes kami. Hindi lang sa mali, kundi improper and inappropriate at katawa-tawa kasi judge ka (I am clear that a senator-judge cannot move to dismiss because we are judges. It’s not just wrong, it’s improper and inappropriate and invites ridicule because you are a judge),” Lacson said in an interview on Radio DZBB.

“Saan ka nakakita sa court, yung judge nasa ibabaw naka-upo siya, dun siya may hawak ng gavel, siya ang pupukpok, tapos sasabihin ng judge, ‘I move to dismiss.’ Tapos siya din ang pupukpok, ‘This case is dismissed.’ Di ba napaka-awkward? (What court have you seen where the judge who sits in judgment bangs his gavel and says, ‘I move to dismiss.’ Then he will also bang the gavel to say, ‘This case is dismissed.’ How awkward is that)?” he pointed out.

It was Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa who moved to dismiss the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte over, among others, the alleged misuse of ₱625-million in confidential and intelligence funds of her Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) when she was its secretary.

Dela Rosa made the motion to dismiss before the Senate ended its sessions for the 19th Congress. The Senate then convened into an impeachment court to discuss Dela Rosa’s motion.

The motion was later amended and the Senate impeachment court eventually decided to return the impeachment complaint back to the House of Representatives.

For now, Lacson said, he is inclined to follow the Philippine Constitution and proceed with the impeachment trial.

“Initially ako, sundin natin ang Saligang Batas kasi plain and simple: try and decide…Sa akin ito na pananaw (Initially for me, let’s follow the Constitution because [it’s written] plain and simple: try and decide…That’s my opinion),” he said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also echoed Lacson’s view saying that as senator-judges, it is their duty to conduct a trial.

“Pinag-debatehan pa namin (yan) (We even debated on that), it was, it is to conduct a trial forthwith. At para makaboto kami eventually na convict ba, acquit ba, kailangan naming madinig ang mga ebidensya sa bawat article of impeachment (and for us to vote eventually, whether to convict or to acquit, we need to hear the evidence on each article of impeachment),” Hontiveros told reporters in a press conference.

“Kailangan naming matingnan at mapakinggan ang bawat witness sa bawat article (we need to see, to hear each witness on each article of impeachment). Due process requires it,” she said.

“Hindi naman pwedeng mayroon lang motion to dismiss, pagbobotohan na namin, dismiss, in effect, acquit. Gayun din, hindi naman pwedeng, hindi pa kami nagkukundukta ng trial, boboto na kami, convict (We can’t just consider the motion to dismiss, then vote on it to dismiss, and in effect, acquit. The same thing, that we can’t just conduct a trial then vote and just convict),” she said.

“So, hindi yan patas (so that won’t be fair) whether sa (to the) prosecution, whether sa (to the) impeached official, higit sa lahat, sa ating publiko (and most importantly, to the public),” she reiterated.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, in a press conference, also expressed his belief in the necessity of an impeachment trial.

“The Constitution says there should be a trial…we can’t just be throwing it away…There’s a violation of the Constitution if we don’t go on trial,” Tulfo said.

“Makikita mo lang yung (you can only see the) pieces of evidence kung mag umpisa na yung trial (once the trial starts)…kung wala naman laman (if there are no sufficient evidences), I’d be the first to say…why don’t we just dismiss this)?” he stressed.

“The people have the right to know if its true or not. Yun yung hinahanap nila eh (that’s what they’ve been looking for). Is this true or not?” he pointed out.