Lawyer cited for contempt to receive no penalty from Senate

By KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News

Published March 6, 2012 2:42pm

(Updated 4:37 p.m.) The Senate will not impose any penalty on the lawyer it had cited for contempt for disrespecting Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago during Chief Justice Renato Corona's impeachment trial last week. Lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II, a private prosecutor in the trial, was cited for contempt after he was seen covering his ears while Santiago was speaking during Day 26 of the proceedings. He has since apologized to Santiago for his action. Aguirre resigned from the prosecution panel days after the incident. He formally filed his withdrawal on Monday.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Enrile said they will not punish Aguirre for what happened.

"In view of the...unusual circumstances that surrounded the incident, the impeachment court, although there is evidence of an act that may be considered contemptuous of the court, [will] not impose a penalty with respect to loss of freedom on Atty. Aguirre but simply to admonish him to be more careful with his conduct as a member of the prosecution panel," he said.

He said the admonition will just be "put into the record."

Enrile said this was the consensus of the senator-judges who met behind closed-doors Tuesday afternoon.

"I think it will be better to do it that way in order not to create any further friction in the course of the trial as well as to quiet the issue already," he said. Miriam agrees with decision

Reached for her reaction, Santiago said she agrees with the decision of the impeachment court.

"We want to preserve the dignity of the court. We want to correct misbehavior, [we're] not punitive or vindictive, so that is the correct penalty and I agree that should be the penalty, particularly if he shows the proper spirit of contririon which apparently he did this morning," Santiago said.

"Justice has been done and honor has been satisfied. I understand that this morning and even last week he was already apologizing to me," she added.

But Santiago still took a sideswipe at Aguirre's supporters, saying she was "underwhelmed."

"I was elected by millions of Filipinos in the May 2010 elections so I'm not likely to be impressed by about 50 people," she said. Aguirre supporters

Earlier in the day, some 50 rallyists trooped to the Senate to show support for Aguirre.

In an interview with reporters, Aguirre's younger sister Garland Aguirre said the rallyists were members of the Mulanay Light Bringers, an organization in Mulanay, Quezon, Aguirre's hometown .

The rallyists wore shirts bearing the picture of Aguirre while covering his ears.

"[Ito ay] suporta sa kapatid namin kasi parang pinaglaban niya lang ang [kanyang] dignidad," Garland said. — KBKRSJ, GMA News

Tags: coronaimpeachment, vitalianoaguirre,