Raffy Tulfo wants impeachment court spox Tongol admonished over blunders

MANILA, Philippines – Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo on Monday asked the Senate impeachment court to admonish its spokesperson, Reginald Tongol, over alleged repeated blunders and for preempting the tribunal.

Tulfo cited Tongol’s latest statement to the media, in which he was quoted as saying that the court might have its final verdict on the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte by December 16.

“I remember, nag issue kayo ng warning dati sa spokesman ng prosecution. In the same manner, nag issue din kayo ng warning sa spokesman ng defense. Now,  it’s about time na mag issue tayo ng warning sa  sarili nating spokesperson,” the senator-judge initially said.

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(I remember, you issued a warning before to the prosecution’s spokesperson. In the same manner, you also issued a warning to the defense’s spokesperson. Now, it’s about time that we issue a warning to our own spokesperson.)

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“Why? Kasi over the weekend, marami akong mga kakilala, kaibigan, tumawag sa akin. Sabi, na-pre-judge niyo na agad yung outcome ng impeachment. Kasi itong si Reynald Tongol…nagsalita sa media na sa December 16, magkakaroon daw tayo ng final verdict sa impeachment trial ni VP Sara,” he went on.

(Why? Because over the weekend, many people I know—friends and acquaintances—called me and said that you had already prejudged the outcome of the impeachment case. [Reginald] Tongol spoke to the media and said that we would supposedly have a final verdict in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on December 16.)

Tulfo then asked Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero if there was any truth to the spokesperson’s pronouncement.

In response, Escudero said the statement was “not entirely  accurate.”

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“So that’s fake news?” Tulfo asked.

“Yes. But that statement is not entirely accurate, Escudero said, adding that any statements on timetable that came out over the weekend could be based only on the pretrial order.

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In the pretrial order, the prosecution proposed 62 trial days, while the defense requested 30 days, for a total of 92 trial days, which was approved by the impeachment court.

READ: Senate impeachment court OKs 92 trial days, 17 shared witnesses

“So that is just simply based on the calendar contained in the pre-trial order. But the court, at this point in time, let it be placed on record and let it be known, is based on math, not based on the realities on the ground of the trial,”  Escudero said.

“It may be a working mathematical equation, but certainly not based on reality, much less that the point of view of the court. The court will instruct the spokesperson accordingly,” he added.

Tulfo then suggested: “Maybe it’s about time na para i-admonish niya, Mr presiding officer. Kasi this is not the first time. Maraming beses na siyang sumablay, pumalpak. Paulit-ulit na lang.”

(Maybe it’s about time to admonish him, Mr. Presiding Officer. This is not the first time. He has made mistakes and blundered many times. It just keeps happening over and over again.)

“Buti pa siya, marami siyang alam. Itong mga senator- judges, mga kasamahan ko, there are things na hindi namin alam. Nabubulaga na lang kami, pag nagdakdak siya sa media, kumbaga inuunahan niya tayo, pini-prempt nya tayo,” he said.

(Good for him, he knows a lot. But we, the senator-judges, my colleagues, there are things that we don’t know. We’re simply caught off guard when he goes on the media, so to speak. He gets ahead of us and preempts us.)

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Escudero assured Tulfo that the court would act accordingly based  on the latter’s manifestation. /jpv

NOTE: The English translations of the quotes in this article were AI-generated