MANILA, Philippines — House impeachment prosecutor Terry Ridon fired back at former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo over his dismissal of the prosecution’s witnesses as “worthless” and “useless,” questioning how closely he followed the trial when he was “asleep” during some proceedings.
“I am not sure which part he was monitoring because there were times when he was asleep during his daily attendance at the trial,” Ridon said during an online press briefing Friday.
Panelo had earlier blamed the slow pace of the impeachment trial on Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s lack of control over the proceedings and criticized the prosecution’s choice of witnesses.
Ridon rejected Panelo’s assessment and expressed confidence in the prosecution’s presentation of witnesses.
“I think we are very much confident in the presentation of our witnesses, and we are expecting the same until the very end,” he said.
Ridon also defended Escudero’s handling of the impeachment proceedings, saying the prosecution considers the presiding officer fair in running the trial.
