MANILA— House prosecutors urged the Senate impeachment court to examine Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s description of her impeachment trial as a “sarswela,” saying the remark could undermine the integrity of the proceedings and potentially amount to contempt.

House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers said the statement should be reviewed by the impeachment court, particularly because Duterte has previously made remarks questioning the proceedings.

“This questions the integrity of the court, so dapat ito huwag palampasin. Dapat tingnan ito at silipin ng ating impeachment court kung ano ang nararapat na kanilang aksyon hinggil dito sa binitawang salita ng ating Pangalawang Pangulo,” Barbers said during a press briefing.

Duterte made the “sarswela” remark over the weekend when asked whether she would personally attend her impeachment trial. She said her lawyers were already representing her before the court.

Barbers said Duterte had a defense team representing her but continued to make statements critical of the proceedings.

“And yet, she issues statements that are insulting and attacks the integrity of the impeachment court,” he said.

Prosecution legal spokesperson and counsel Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Duterte’s statement could potentially violate the impeachment court’s sub judice rule and also raise a contempt issue.

“Hindi lang ito violation ng sub judice, even contempt of court. These statements are not just inflammatory, but they attack the integrity of the court,” Tolosa said.

Tolosa also pointed to Duterte’s earlier claim that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. controlled the senator-judges and prosecutors, saying it was another public statement that questioned the impeachment process.

He said repeatedly leaving such statements unaddressed could influence public perception of any eventual ruling against Duterte by creating the impression that the proceedings were manipulated rather than decided based on evidence and due process.

“Kaya ho ito, we cannot take this lightly,” Tolosa said.

He also called for the impeachment court’s rules to be applied consistently, noting that prosecutors themselves have faced scrutiny over statements they made publicly.

“Pakita natin dito na wala hong iniilagan, na kahit sino na saklaw ng rules ng impeachment proceedings na ito, dapat i-apply ho natin ’yan with equal force, equal strength,” he said.

“Kung magiging istrikto tayo, dapat pare-pareho ’yan sa lahat,” Tolosa added.

House prosecutor Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said two members of the prosecution team had received show-cause orders two weeks earlier over public statements being examined for possible violations of the sub judice rule.

He said Duterte, as the respondent in the impeachment case, is also covered by the rule and that the prosecution would observe how the impeachment court responds to her remarks.

“Siguro panoorin po natin ngayon kung ano po ang magiging reaksyon ng ating kagalang-galang na impeachment court,” Chua said.

“Bagamat kami naniniwala na iyong mga ganitong pananalita ay dapat hindi pinapalagpas,” he added.

The impeachment court has yet to rule on whether Duterte’s “sarswela” remark violated its sub judice rule or warrants any other action.