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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Escudero chides Duterte's defense team for 'ghosting' prosecution; orders them to submit evidence to impeachment court

Escudero chides Duterte's defense team for 'ghosting' prosecution; orders them to submit evidence to impeachment court

Published Aug 11, 2026 12:39 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Tuesday, August 11 reminded the defense lawyers of Vice President Sara Duterte about the need to respond to the prosecution's messages concerning the stipulation of documents.

Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday, August 11 reminded the defense lawyers of Vice President Sara Duterte about the need to respond to the prosecution’s messages concerning the stipulation of documents.

This, after both sides failed to meet after the impeachment court ordered the defense lawyers to submit to the court its marked evidence from the pre-trial proceedings in order that senator-judges can study the documents.

Lorna Kapunan, one of the lawyers of the House prosecution panel, complained that Duterte’s camp snubbed them when they sought a mutually common date and time, saying “eto po ang nangyari: na-Indian po kami (This is what happened: we were ignored).”

“The Presiding Officer’s directive to agree on a date—specifically Thursday or Friday of last week—was very clear. That constitutes bad faith, Your Honor, because the Presiding Officer had specified those dates—Thursday or Friday of last week. Yet, the defense claim that the Presiding Officer made nothing of the sort,” Kapunan lamented.

Escudero eventually responded: “Hindi ka in-indian, siguro ginhost ka (You weren’t ignored, maybe you were ghosted).”

“But having said that…the Chair would like to request the counsels for respondent to kindly furnish the court with a copy of the marked pieces of evidence during pre-trial,” the presiding officer asked the defense panel on Day 14 of the impeachment trial.

“So in lieu of meeting, kindly just submit that, Atty. Kristine (Ferrer), so that we can do the comparison ourselves either as a Court or through the individual Senator-Judges,” Escudero further said.

Last Wednesday, the Impeachment Court, through Escudero ordered both the prosecution and defense to meet either Thursday or Friday last week so they can agree on the veracity of the documents they possess and will submit as evidence before the tribunal.

But Kapunan said they received no reply from the defense, citing that the defense’s stonewalling dragged on until the end of office hours on Thursday last week.

Related Tags

Duterte impeachment case 2026 VP Sara Duterte impeachment trial Senate impeachment court
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