MANILA, Philippines — Prosecutors in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial said Wednesday they were concerned that a spliced video posted by Sen. Pia Cayetano could mislead the public, but they will not ask her or any other senator-judge to inhibit from the proceedings.
Lawyer Benjamin Tolosa Jr., counsel for the House prosecution panel, said the video could create a false impression about Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno’s statements during oral arguments on the prosecution’s request for Duterte’s bank and tax records.
“This is concerning not only because the people may have a wrong impression regarding what really happened in the oral arguments, and what was the prosecution’s stand through Cong. Chel Diokno,” Tolosa said during a press briefing.
He said the larger concern was that the post could create an impression that members of the Senate impeachment court had already prejudged the case.
Cayetano posted the video on Facebook on July 24. It showed portions of an exchange between her brother, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who serves as a senator-judge, and Diokno during the impeachment proceedings.
The edited video made it appear that Diokno acknowledged that the prosecution had no evidence and was conducting a fishing expedition.
Tolosa said the video included a text overlay stating, “there is no evidence, they are just taking a chance,” followed by a question mark.
He said such editing could affect public confidence in the impeachment process and create a perception that the prosecution was no longer impartial.
“And it could also lead to a perception of partiality when this is very dangerous, because it could erode the people’s confidence and trust in our institutions,” Tolosa said.
However, Tolosa said the prosecution would not identify Cayetano as having acted with improper intent or call on her to step aside as a senator-judge.
“No, we’re not asking anyone to voluntarily inhibit themselves,” he said.
Tolosa said there could be an explanation for the post, including a possible mistake from social media staff.
“There may be a valid explanation for this, it can be a clerical error, maybe the social media handlers are the ones wrong, so let’s give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
The video featured Diokno saying, “we’re taking a chance that we may find evidence,” before Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano asked what the prosecution could obtain from Duterte’s bank records.
Diokno made the statement while explaining the concept of a fishing expedition, which involves gathering documents in hopes of finding incriminating evidence. He argued that the prosecution’s request did not constitute such an effort.
Diokno later clarified his position in a July 26 social media post, saying the prosecution had requested specific bank records that it had identified before the impeachment trial.
He said the prosecution had established probable cause through Anti-Money Laundering Council records showing billions of pesos that passed through accounts belonging to Duterte and her husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio.
“We sought the bank records to verify whether they match the AMLC reports,” Diokno said.
The Senate impeachment court subsequently approved the prosecution’s request to subpoena Duterte’s bank and tax records.
Cayetano has faced criticism on social media over the video. On Wednesday, a group of women’s rights advocates, student leaders and civil society organizations filed an ethics complaint against her before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
The complainants asked the committee to investigate what they described as Cayetano’s “deliberate dissemination of a spliced and misleading video” on Facebook.
“The deliberate editing of official impeachment proceedings to mislead the public is not merely a political act, it is a serious ethical issue that strikes at the integrity of the Senate as an impeachment court,” the group said.
