Sen. Robin Padilla was called out for relying on a search engine to understand legal terms on the first day of Vice President Sara Duterte‘s impeachment trial.
The actor-turned-senator shared on Monday, July 6, that he consulted Google to better understand the constitutional issues concerning the selection of the presiding officer in the impeachment court.
Padilla is among the senators who did not vote for Sen. Chiz Escudero as presiding officer.
“Humingi po ako ng tulong sa Google kasi legal terms po ito. Hindi naman po ako nagtapos sa UP [University of the Philippines]. Hindi rin po ako nagtapos sa Ateneo. Nagtapos po ako ng criminology. At UP rin: University of Prison,” he said.
The senator holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from the Philippine College of Criminology.
Padilla was also referring to two of the top two universities in the country, UP and Ateneo de Manila University.
He expressed his support for Sen. Pia Cayetano‘s argument that Senate President Win Gatchalian, as Senate chief, should act as presiding officer of the impeachment trial.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution does not state that the Senate President should serve as the presiding officer during impeachment proceedings. It only provides that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court assumes the role if the president is being impeached.
“In fact, the Constitution clearly provides that the Senate shall ‘promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this section,” University of the Philippines College of Law associate dean and constitutional law professor Paolo Tamase said in an interview.
Meanwhile, Padilla’s comments did not sit well with some Filipinos, who question his remark that he used a search engine to understand the presiding officer concern.
“Ito ang sinuswelduhan natin…” an online user commented.
“Might as well replace this [expletive] with AI,” another Pinoy commented, referring to artificial intelligence.
“Sir, you are given funds for the upkeep of your office. That includes hiring personnel. Ano ba,” an X user said.
“Magkano sweldo ng mga staff ni Robin? Sayang tax namin sa inyo,” another Pinoy commented.
Last June, Rep. Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal party-list) corrected Padilla after he linked her past detention case to that of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who is in hiding amid an International Criminal Court warrant.
A month before that, Sen. Risa Hontiveros also called out Padilla over his understanding of a legal term in justifying online participation in Senate sessions.
Meanwhile, the Senate is convening as an impeachment court for the trial of Duterte, who is facing complaints over grave threats against a public official, alleged misuse of confidential funds, alleged corruption during her tenure as the secretary of the Department of Education and alleged unexplained wealth.
READ: Impeachment trial of Philippine VP Sara Duterte to open in divided Senate
