The Senate Impeachment Court should explore ways that would help speed up the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte as the latter is also entitled to a speedy trial, Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said.

“The Vice President is entitled to a speedy trial, just like any respondent in an ordinary court trial. So we must devise ways to speed it up,” Lacson said in English and Filipino in an interview over Radio DZBB on Sunday, July 12.

“Speeding up the trial does not mean compromising the presentation of evidence. It means maximizing the limited time available to us,” the senator clarified.

For instance, Lacson said the impeachment court may consider having witnesses expected to testify during the week remain readily available at the Senate premises.

He noted that the proceedings last Wednesday, July 8, ended early because the next witness, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regional director Jeremy Lotoc was not in the Senate premises.

If the trial continues at the current pace of only one witness per week, the senator warned that it may stretch through the Christmas holidays and beyond.

“One suggestion I made was that the defense and prosecution make sure their witnesses for one week are readily available in a holding room, so if we finish early with one witness, we can move to the next and not waste time,” he pointed out.

According to Lacson, Impeachment Court presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero was also open to the suggestion.

Moreover, he said senator-judges may also discuss in this week's caucus the scope of their questioning during the trial, particularly questions directed at fellow senator-judges.

Lacson noted that one such exchange lasted at least an hour, particularly on the first day of the trial.

Aside from this, he said senator-judges should address among themselves any alleged indiscretions committed by their colleagues, instead of having Impeachment Court spokesperson Reginald Tongol publicly call their attention to such matters.

He said it would be more appropriate for Tongol to course any reminders through the presiding officer or the Senate President, rather than publicly admonishing senator-judges.

“I could not imagine Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting telling the Supreme Court justices to read the Rules of Court. I hope what Tongol did will not happen again. If there are alleged indiscretions by individual senator-judges, we can discuss and address them among ourselves. Or the spokesperson can course the reminder to the presiding officer or Senate President,” he said.

Also, Lacson expressed hope that the Impeachment Court would be able to settle early the issue of the voting threshold required to convict the Vice President, because it would be chaotic if if the Supreme Court later on overturns the decision of the Court on the ground of grave abuse of discretion.

Escudero had earlier said that 16 votes will still be required to convict the vice president with finality.

“It is better that the issue be resolved this early and someone would bring it before the high court before we reach a decision, so we will be guided accordingly,” Lacson said.

At the same time, Lacson said the Impeachment Court will not be distracted by the consistent bashing on social media, noting that it cannot please everybody.

“Like I said, you cannot satisfy everybody. There will always be critics and bashers. But we cannot afford to be distracted by minor issues. We have to push through with the trial as we see fit,” he said.