MANILA — The House prosecution team on Wednesday said it would fully comply with the Senate impeachment court’s order to strictly enforce the rule barring public comments on the merits of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial, while calling for the same standard to apply to all parties.

House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said the prosecution respects the court’s ruling on Rule 18, or the sub judice rule.

“Unang-una, nirerespeto natin ang desisyon ng impeachment court tungkol dito sa pagpapatupad ng Rule 18, ’yung sub judice rule,” Barbers said at a press briefing.

“Of course, the prosecution panel will definitely comply with the directives of the impeachment court,” he added.

Barbers said the prosecution expects the rule to be applied equally to everyone covered by it, including Duterte.

“However, we also expect that this ruling, this Rule 18, must also apply to other parties, including the respondent,” he said.

Deputy Speaker Jefferson Khonghun of Zambales said the implementation of the ruling would serve as a test of whether the impeachment court would enforce the rule fairly.

“Magiging litmus test ’yun kung talagang paano ipatutupad ng ating impeachment court ’yung kanilang kautusan,” Khonghun said.

“Ang hinahanap lang naman ng prosecution team is fairness, no?” he added.

“Pag sinisita ’yung prosecution sa kanilang mga sinasabi, kailangan maging fair din na kailangang sitahin din ’yung mga nasasabi ng depensa. At siyempre, kailangan sitahin din kung ano ’yung sinasabi ng nasasakdal, no? Dito in the case is Vice President,” Khonghun said.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero ordered the strict enforcement of Rule 18 moving forward but said previous statements covered by the rule would not be penalized.

Escudero said the rule applies to the presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, the impeached official, their respective counsels and witnesses.

The ruling stemmed from a manifestation by lead defense counsel Shiela Sison concerning a Facebook post by prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan following an Aug. 12 exchange in court over leading and misleading questions.

Escudero, however, said the court’s action was not limited to the incident involving Ligutan and was also based on the presiding officer’s “independent findings of seeming violations of Rule 18.”

The court defined prohibited comments on the merits as statements that evaluate disputed facts, witness credibility or the relevance, weight or sufficiency of evidence; assess the legal viability of an impeachment article or defense; advocate a particular outcome; or announce or predict the ultimate vote.

Under the ruling, alleged violations will be addressed through a two-strike system. The first step is a written show-cause order giving the respondent 24 hours to submit a verified answer.

A first offense may result in a severe reprimand and stern admonition in open court. A second offense carries a fine of up to PHP30,000 per violation, while lawyers or parties may also be restricted from speaking, objecting or examining witnesses during proceedings.

Subsequent violations will be treated in the same manner as a second offense. Lawyers may also face referral to the Office of the Bar Confidant, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines or the Supreme Court for possible disciplinary action.

Barbers said the prosecution would continue using its designated spokespersons to explain developments in the trial while ensuring that lawyers who have formally entered their appearance comply with the restrictions.

“Isa sa mga obligasyon ng ating prosecution panel, via the designated spokespersons, ay maisalaysay sa ating mga kababayan sa pinakamabilis at pinakamadaling paraan na maiintindihan kung ano ba ’yung nangyayari,” he said.

Khonghun said the spokespersons would also help counter misinformation about the proceedings.

“Kaya nga nagtalaga tayo ng mga spokesperson, talking heads ng prosecution, para at least maipaliwanag mabuti ’yung flow ng kaso,” he said.

“Kasi nakikita naman natin, maraming fake news, ’di ba, na inilalabas. So mas maganda na ipaliwanag ito nang mabuti at accurately,” he added.

Barbers said the prosecution is considering whether to designate another legal spokesperson in light of the court’s ruling.

“Siguro kung may pagbabago man, mas magiging aware ’yung ating mga prosecution doon sa ruling ng ating presiding officer, at talagang susunod naman ’yung ating prosecution team kung ano ’yung ipinag-utos ng ating korte,” he said.