Lawyer cited in contempt to resign from prosecution panel

The lawyer who was cited for contempt for covering his ears while Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago was criticizing the prosecution team has already expressed intention to leave the panel.

 

At a press briefing on Thursday, Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, prosecution spokesman, confirmed that lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre will be tendering his resignation as a volunteer lawyer for the panel.

 

“I think it’s already difficult for him to obviously appear before the Senate knowing fully well na masyadong antagonistic na ang relationship nila,” Quimbo told reporters.

 

He added that the prosecution cannot stop Aguirre from resigning, since the team has already rested its impeachment case against Corona, and the private lawyer will not be part of cross-examinations in the coming weeks.

 

Aguirre was cited in contempt on Wednesday after he covered his ears while Santiago was launching tirades at the prosecution team.

 

When asked to explain his side, the private prosecutor even admitted that he purposely covered his ears so as not to hear Santiago's “shrill” voice. He also told Santiago that members of the prosecution deserve some respect. 'Not good for the prosecution'

 

Quimbo likewise admitted that Aguirre’s action was “not good” for the prosecution, but said that it would definitely not affect the outcome of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial.

 

“At the end of the day, kung ano ang gawin ng huwes, you have to accept it and hope that in the end, the evidence will carry through a decision that is going to be favorable to your cause,” the lawmaker said.

 

He added that the prosecution team will extend any help it can to Aguirre once the Senate imposes sanctions on the lawyer.

 

Webb, Lacson lawyer

 

Aguirre is not new to making controversial exits from trial courts. In 2000, when he was serving as a defense counsel for Hubert Webb in the Vizconde massacre case, he was also reported to have walked out of the court while the verdict was being read.   

He also had past connections with two senator-judges in the impeachment trial. He once served as legal counsel for Senator Panfilo Lacson, and conducted direct examinations of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV when investigations on the Oakwood Mutiny in 2003.

 

Like Santiago, Aguirre also graduated cum laude when he finished his law degree at the San Beda College.

 

In 1971, he passed the Bar examinations with a score of 85.25 percent.

 

Aguirre is presently on leave as a law professor at the Arellano Law Foundation. He is also the president of Foster Reality Corp. and a managing partner at the Aguirre and Aguirre Law Firm. — RSJ, GMA News