Several civil society groups, academics and student leaders on Wednesday filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Pia Cayetano, accusing her of sharing a misleading edited video of House prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The complaint, received by the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges at 3:11 p.m., alleges that Cayetano deliberately posted a spliced version of Diokno’s remarks on Facebook, misleading the public and undermining the integrity of the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
Among the complainants are former Commission on Higher Education chair Patricia “Tatti” Licuanan, 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.
The groups urged the ethics panel to investigate Cayetano’s conduct, saying the senator’s dissemination of the edited video violated ethical standards expected of members of the Senate 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.
They argued that the edited video omitted Diokno’s legal explanation, allegedly reversing the meaning of his statement and creating the impression that he admitted to an improper legal strategy.
“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,” the complaint stated.
The complainants also said Cayetano’s actions violated the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which prohibits lawyers from engaging in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct.
They further argued that the senator breached the constitutional oath taken by senator-judges to render impartial justice during impeachment proceedings.
“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 said.
The complaint also described Cayetano’s social media post as demonstrating a reckless disregard for the truth and warned that it could erode public confidence in the Senate’s impartiality.
The groups asked the ethics committee to reprimand Cayetano, saying her actions caused “institutional damage” and threatened the credibility of the impeachment proceedings.
“No one—especially 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,” the complaint said.
