House of Representatives prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers on Thursday called on the Senate, sitting as the Impeachment Court in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, to address the spread of fake and misleading content allegedly originating from within the ranks of the senator-judges.

In a radio interview, Barbers said it is the responsibility of the Senate leadership and the members of the impeachment court to ensure that their own ranks uphold the integrity and impartiality of the proceedings.

“Well, itong issue na ito, siyempre, ang panawagan natin ay sa Presiding Officer at sa buong Impeachment Court na i-police nila ang kanilang hanay. Sila mismo ang maging ‘police’ sa kanilang hanay. Tingnan nila kung sino ang lumalabas sa linya o sino ang nagva-violate sa ating rules (On this issue, our call is for the Presiding Officer and the whole impeachment court to police their own ranks. They should look into who is crossing the line or who is violating the rules),” the former Surigao del Norte lawmaker said.

Barbers made the appeal after the circulation of a Facebook post published under the account of Senator Pia Cayetano, which, according to the House prosecution panel, contained a “spliced” video of the oral arguments between Cayetano and prosecution panel member Rep. Chel Diokno.

The prosecution panel alleged that the edited video misrepresented the exchange by making it appear that the prosecution was engaged in a “fishing expedition” when it sought the issuance of subpoenas for the Vice President’s bank accounts and other financial records.

While condemning the circulation of the video, Barbers said the prosecution panel remains confident that the public witnessed the actual proceedings and understands what transpired during the hearing.

“Sa prosecution side, sa aking paniwala, walang epekto. Pero sa integrity ng mga senator-judges, may malaking question. Kapag ang isang senator-judge ay nagpapakita ng bias o pagpanig sa isang side habang ito’y nililitis, parang may violation iyon sa kanilang rules (In my opinion, there was no effect on the side of the prosecution. But on the integrity of the senator-judges, there is a big question. If a senator-judge shows bias or takes a side while on trial, it seems that it is a violation of their rules),” he said.

Barbers noted that the issue goes beyond the prosecution and instead concerns the credibility of the Senate as an impeachment court.

“Dinig na dinig ng ating mga kababayan kung ano ang totoong nangyari. We do not expect that coming from a senator-judge ay ilalabas ang ganitong fake at spliced video. Kaya nga ang panawagan namin, dahil alam naman nila kung ano ang totoong nangyari, kung maaari sana ay sila na mismo ang mag-rectify nito (The public heard what really transpired. We don’t expect that coming from a senator-judge, this fake and spliced video. That is why our call to them, since they know what really happened, is for them to rectify this),” he said.

“The House prosecution panel reiterated its appeal for the Senate impeachment court to take the necessary steps to safeguard the integrity, impartiality, and credibility of the impeachment proceedings by addressing the alleged dissemination of manipulated content related to the trial.”

Countering Misinformation

To counter misinformation, the House prosecution panel is already searching for another lawyer with litigation experience to help explain the impeachment proceedings while its current legal spokesperson prepares to present witnesses.

In a televised interview also on Thursday, private prosecutor and House prosecution legal spokesperson Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. disclosed that the search began even before questions were raised over his simultaneous performance of courtroom and communications duties.

“But, actually, even before this came up, we’ve already been trying to look for another spokesperson, because when I informed our team that when it’s my turn to be on deck and to present a witness, I would have to scale back my spokesman duties,” Tolosa said.

“So, once I informed them about that, then we started to look for, you know, someone who could complement me, you know, and help me out in doing these spokes duties.”

The panel, he said, is specifically looking for another lawyer who can understand courtroom developments and explain their legal significance to viewers without compromising the pending proceedings.

He added the additional legal voice is needed because the public discussion surrounding the trial has been vulnerable to inaccurate claims and distorted accounts since the proceedings began.

“The goal here is to combat, misinformation, disinformation campaign. We’ve been seeing that from day one,” Tolosa said.

The prosecution already has House lawmakers serving as trial spokespersons, but Tolosa maintained that the legal and technical nature of many courtroom disputes requires sustained public explanation.

“So, for us, that is very crucial, so that we could explain, in a manner that could be understood by the public the technicalities, what’s actually going on in this trial,” he said.

Tolosa also committed to exercise greater caution after the impeachment court spokesperson reminded both camps to observe the sub judice rule in their public statements.

“We welcome that reminder, and we’ll make sure that moving forward we’ll be even more cautious and careful about ensuring not to violate the sub judice rule,” he said.

The prosecution, however, has yet to identify a final candidate who can share the legal spokesperson’s workload when Tolosa takes the lead in presenting a witness.

“Last I checked, I don’t think the people have been vetted or, if we have, a short list at this point. It looks like the search is ongoing as we speak,” Tolosa said. (PNA)