House prosecutor: We expect senator-judges to be physically present at trial

After senator-judges Robin Padilla, Mark Villar and Bong Go were photographed at the Senate lounge during the impeachment trial, a member of the prosecution panel said that they expected them to be physically present in the proceedings.

In a "24 Oras" report from Sandra Aguinaldo on Wednesday, Padilla, Villar and Go could be seen smiling while supposedly monitoring the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte being held at the session hall.

There are at least four senators who cannot be physically present for the trial: Senators Jinggoy Ejercito and Rodante Marcoleta, who are currently detained facing corruption charges; Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who is in hiding; and Sen. Loren Legarda, who is abroad for an extended medical leave.

Prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Adiong said that while they could control what the impeachment court does, it would help for the senator-judges to be present.

“Ini-expect natin na ang ating mga senador ay nariyan para sila mismo bilang judges ay ma-observe nila yung manner ng response ng mga witnesses,” Adiong said.

(We expect our senators to be there so that they themselves, as judges, can observe the manner in which the witnesses respond.)

Meanwhile, impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said that even if the senators step out of the session hall, the quorum is still intact.

“As long as they are still under the control of the Senate President, anytime they could be called to vote within the plenary, the quorum is continuing unless questioned by any one of the members,” Tongol said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Go explained that he had just taken a break, so he passed by the lounge. He said that there was nothing wrong with this because they could go out for coffee or a restroom break.

“Yung nagpa-picture sa lounge, dumaan po ako. Lumalabas naman kami. Pumupunta kami sa comfort room. Nagkataon nandoon din po, andoon si Senator Robin at si Senator Mark pero ang importante, patuloy kaming mag-monitor,” Go said.

(The picture in the lounge, I just passed by. We were going out. We were going to the comfort room. We just happened to go there, Senator Robin was there and so was Senator Mark, but what is important is that we continue to monitor.)

The trial proceedings on Tuesday and Wednesday have been cancelled due to the Southwest Monsoon, which prompted Malacanang's declaration of an alternative work setup for government offices. —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News