MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Friday urged his fellow senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to exercise restraint and discernment in asking clarificatory questions, saying irrelevant queries are slowing the proceedings.
In radio interview, Lacson said that while Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero has been accommodating of his fellow senator-judges out of respect, "we should likewise exercise restraint and be mature enough to discern which questions are proper."
"With all due respect to our peers, sometimes we senator-judges are slowing down the trial. Why is it that sometimes questions irrelevant to the trial are asked? The presiding officer has been accommodating out of respect. But we must be mature enough to discern what clarificatory questions we can ask," Lacson said.
"Injecting issues that are not relevant to the impeachment trial causes unnecessary delays, and does not sit well with the public," he added.
