PASAY CITY—A brief moment of lighthearted banter broke the tension on Day 14 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial after prosecution counsel Atty. Lorna Kapunan complained that the defense team stood them up on pre-trial document comparisons. 

Raising a formal manifestation before the court, Kapunan expressed frustration over the defense panel's failure to coordinate, candidly declaring, "Na-indian po kami."

Kapunan explained that the defense did not respond to their text messages proposing to meet last Thursday or Friday to compare documents and marked evidence. 

According to Kapunan, the defense only replied at 5:38 p.m. on Thursday to say they were available on August 14—the very day of the trial. 

"Napakalinaw naman sa directive ng presiding officer na mag-agree on a date on Thursday or Friday of last week. August 14 what good will that do us? The hearing is today," Kapunan stressed. 

She described the defense’s claim that the court only instructed them to agree on a date generally as "more disturbing," calling out the move directly by stating, "That is bad faith."

Presiding Officer Francis Escudero quickly stepped in, redefining the prosecution’s grievance with modern slang that drew smiles in the courtroom. 

Correcting Kapunan’s modern vocabulary, Escudero playfully countered: "Hindi ka in-Indian, baka ghinost ka, kasi di ka sinagot. Pero di ka inindan, wala namang napag-usapang date pa eh."

Kapunan immediately offered a quick rebuttal, asking, "In-ignore?" but Escudero humorously held his ground, insisting that the prosecution had simply been ghosted. 

Shifting back to official proceedings, Escudero stepped in to resolve the deadlock directly by ordering the counsels for the respondent to furnish the impeachment court with their copies of the marked pre-trial evidence. 

He explained that the document comparison could be handled by the court itself or by the senator-judges, bypassing the need for further panel-to-panel coordination.

Defense lawyer Atty. Kristine Ferrer promptly confirmed that the defense panel will comply with the court's directive. 

Kapunan noted that the defense's reluctance was "not new," pointing out similar friction during the pre-trial conference when they refused to stipulate over document cover pages. 

Despite the underlying dispute over trial preparations, Escudero’s quick wit provided a memorable, lighter interlude in the ongoing legal battle.

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