SENATE President Sherwin Gatchalian has ordered the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) to investigate viral social media photos and video clips showing figures from both the prosecution and defense engaging in playful antics inside the Senate premises during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Expressing dismay over what he described as a breach of institutional decorum, Gatchalian reminded both parties that the Senate Session Hall is a “sacred space — a venue where critical national policies are debated, and significant laws are crafted.” Any conduct diminishing the dignity of the chamber during a historic trial is strictly unacceptable, he said.
He ordered OSAA officials to review all internal closed-circuit television footage to trace the circumstances behind the photos, which shows members of the House prosecution panel and private trial attorneys striking playful, lighthearted poses inside the session hall shortly after concluding their trial presentations.
Some images depict individuals making facial gestures, including sticking out their tongues.
According to Gatchalian, the review will also verify the authenticity of the images to determine whether they were genuinely taken on site or manipulated using artificial intelligence tools before any formal disciplinary actions are meted out.
He said the inquiry will also cover a separate viral video showing former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo — a prominent defense lawyer — dancing in a Senate hallway with an online video logger.
Gatchalian underscored that frivolous behavior from either side of the legal divide damages public perception of the tribunal.
