Ethics raps filed vs. Pia Cayetano over alleged spliced impeachment video

MANILA, Philippines — An ethics complaint was filed on Wednesday against Sen. Pia Cayetano over a video she posted during the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which allegedly contained a spliced clip of House Prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno.

The complaint was submitted by former Commission on Higher Education chair Patricia “Tatti” Licaunan, University of the Philippines Diliman professor and Everywoman co-convenor Jean Franco, Parents Initiative and Social Awareness Mainstreaming Advocacy, Sanctuary Network, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Public Administration Student Council President Joahna Marie Dela Cruz, the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, District Wide Advocates Quezon City, and Pandayan Para sa Sosyalistang Pilipinas.

According to the complainants, the deliberately edited video compromised the integrity of the Senate in its role as an impeachment court.

“The deliberate editing of official impeachment proceedings to mislead the public is not merely a political act. It is a serious ethical issue that strikes at the integrity of the Senate as an impeachment court,” the complainants said.

The Senate committee on ethics and privileges received the complaint at 3:11 p.m. Wednesday.

In the letter, the complainants requested that the Senate panel “conduct an inquiry into the public actions” of Cayetano from her supposed “deliberate dissemination of a spliced and misleading video on her Facebook page.”

They noted that Cayetano’s sharing of such a video “violated the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability,” which prohibits members of the bar from engaging in “unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct.”

“Deliberately omitting Rep. Diokno’s legal explanation to invert the meaning of his statement constitutes active, calculated deceit. Sen. Pia S. Cayetano engaged in an artifice designed to deceive the viewing public into believing that Rep. Diokno confessed to an improper legal maneuver,” they explained.

Furthermore, the complainants tagged Cayetano’s social media activity as a “reckless disregard for the truth.”

The senator-judges also took the Constitutional oath to practice “impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws of the Philippines, the complainants pointed out.

“The actions done by Sen. Pia Cayetano were a direct violation of this oath. The video only revealed her bias for the vice-president’s camp. Unfortunately, Sen. Pia S. Cayetano no longer has the cold neutrality of an impartial judge, which all parties before a court are entitled to as part of due process,” they added.

The complainants asked the Senate to reprimand Cayetano, arguing that her post caused “institutional damage“ to the upper chamber and could undermine public trust in the impeachment process.

They said the Senate’s failure to act on the complaint “risks eroding public confidence in the neutrality expected of senator-judges,” stressing that members of the impeachment court are expected to uphold impartiality and protect the integrity of the proceedings.

“No one–espeially senator-judges– should be permitted to distort or selectively present the official proceedings in a manner that misleads the public… When a senator-judge publicly acts in a manner inconsistent with the standards governing the proceedings, public confidence in the institution is inevitably diminished,” they highlighted. /apl/dp

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