Amando Virgil Ligutan defends viral post during Duterte impeachment trial

During the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan defended a viral Facebook post regarding courtroom procedures. The post, which stated, “A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart: Misleading questions are not allowed even on cross-examination,” was published during a hearing on August 12 following a dispute over questioning techniques used by defense counsel.

Defense counsel Sheila Sison characterized the post as being in bad faith and a violation of Senate rules prohibiting participants from commenting on the merits of the case. In response to the court's inquiry, Ligutan argued that he was not attacking anyone but was instead acting out of a “teacher’s instinct” to correct a legal error.

Ligutan, a managing partner at SALiGAL Law in Cebu and a law instructor at several universities, has been a key figure in the prosecution panel, conducting examinations of witnesses including National Bureau of Investigation Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc and former special disbursing officer Gina Acosta.