MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s lead defense counsel Sheila Sison on Wednesday slammed a social media post by House private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan as “in bad taste,” as it appeared to take a swipe at the defense amid the ongoing impeachment trial.
Sison raised the post before the impeachment court after Ligutan published at 11:29 a.m. that “A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart: Misleading questions are NOT allowed even on cross-examination,” shortly after a heated exchange between defense counsel Atty. Ferrer and private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan over a cross-examination question.
“I find it troubling that a private prosecutor would do this in the middle of a courtroom hearing,” Sison said.
She invoked the impeachment court’s rules on decorum and its prohibition against participants, particularly lawyers, commenting on the merits of the case.
Sison also disputed the apparent implication of Ligutan’s post, saying Ferrer was not referring to misleading questions when she said such questions were allowed.
According to Sison, Kapunan was the first to raise the issue of misleading questions, telling the court that there were limits to cross-examination and that misleading questions were not allowed.
Ferrer then responded that such questions were allowed, but Sison maintained that Ferrer was referring to leading questions, which are permitted during cross-examination, rather than misleading questions.
Sison therefore argued that Ligutan’s post incorrectly appeared to link Ferrer to the claim that misleading questions were permissible.
“And yet, we have a private prosecutor immediately taking to social media and posting this, implying something against the defense counsel. We will not have this,” Sison said.
