Reginald Tongol denies ‘lawyering’ for Sara Duterte

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol (left) and House prosecution panel spokesperson Antonio Bucoy. Photos from Regie Tongol, Associates Law and Antonio Audie Bucoy Facebook.

MANILA, Philippines — Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol has denied “lawyering” for Vice President Sara Duterte.

This came after House prosecution panel spokesperson Antonio Bucoy accused Tongol of suggesting a legal strategy for Duterte after the latter was quoted saying “If I were the vice president, I will file a motion to dismiss.”

“If a person is hungry, you’ll say, ‘Oh, you’re hungry? What’s the next step then? Of course, you’ll eat if you’re hungry.’ With us, lawyers, it’s the same thing. If a certain motion is filed, we already know what they’re going to file next,” Tongol, speaking in Filipino, said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

“That’s not lawyering for one party. This is based on our experience as a lawyer, as already corroborated by other lawyers in other fields,” he added.

READ: Bucoy: Senate impeachment court spokesperson is lawyering for Duterte

When asked if there was conflict between himself and his counterpart in the House prosecution panel, Tongol answered in the negative.

“We’re not picking fights. I’m just protecting the dignity of the court,” he stressed.

“Nothing good will come out of destroying the credibility of the court… You may not respect some of the individual senator-judges. But, the institution itself, the institutional independence of the Senate as an impeachment court must be respected,” he further said.

Duterte has been charged with culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes, particularly her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.

According to Tongol, the vice president has until Monday night to reply to the summons sent to her by the Senate impeachment court. /mr