Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday pressed for strict adherence to the rules as he objected to what he described as a “leading question” from the prosecution during the second day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

“I’ll be very particular when it comes to the rules and it’s not against any particular group… All of us want to expedite [this], but let’s follow the rules,” the veteran senator-judge said.

The prosecution was presenting evidence on Article IV of the impeachment complaint, which centers on Duterte’s alleged threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during an online press briefing in November 2024.

While examining a witness, the prosecution asked him to identify the timestamp where Duterte allegedly said she had hired someone to “kill” the First Family.

Cayetano objected, saying the witness should first be asked to describe the video before being directed to a specific portion.

“The rules say you cannot allow leading questions, whether it’s from the judges, the presiding officer, or defense,” the senator-judge said.

Citing the Rules of Evidence, he explained: “You lay the basis, meaning, simply, you ask him ano y’ung laman ng video. ‘Pag binanggit na niya na may ganito sa laman ng video, then you can ask him directly what part [iyon].”

Presiding officer Senator Francis Escudero agreed and instructed the prosecution “to lay the basis” before asking about the timestamp.

Earlier, Cayetano also suggested that the court view the full two-hour recording of Duterte’s press briefing instead of selected clips if the defense intended to present the entire video later.

“Para walang prejudgment. Kasi ‘pag nauna y’ung portions na maliliit and then saka mo lang sasabihin ito pala ang context, medyo umiiba [ang interpretation],” the lawyer-senator said.

“I don’t want to really go home today believing one thing based on a two-minute clip and then come back next week to watch the two-hour clip,” he added.

Cayetano clarified that he was raising the proposal only for “expediency.”

“I’m not criticizing the motion of the prosecution. I see what you mean,” he said. “I’m just trying to expedite.”

After Escudero and the Senate impeachment court ruled that both sides could present their evidence as they deemed proper, Cayetano accepted the ruling.

Earlier in the day, Cayetano urged the court to pursue justice with fairness and remain “faithful with the Constitution, the Senate rules, the rules of impeachment.”

“Lord, do not allow us to obstruct justice,” he said as he opened the trial in prayer. “Lead each one of us to pursue this impeachment trial with fairness, political neutrality and due process. We may disagree on many things… Yet may we agree in the words You put in the framers of the Constitution.” ###