Former Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) College of Law Dean Atty. Judd Roy III has reminded both camps in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial to cut the theatrics and get to the point.
Interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s At The Forefront with Atty. Karen Jimeno, Roy acknowledged that the public is smart enough to recognize when lawyers are merely playing to the crowd.
Roy made the remarks amid observations that the impeachment trial was moving more slowly than the proceedings against the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.
“Siguro yung publicity stunt, they can tell. Alam na nang tao yun,” Roy said.
“Publicity stunt, kita nila. Photo ops, kita nila. They can see if you’re playing to the crowd,” he added.
“They can see if you’re trying to develop your own personality on television,” Roy said.
Roy also blamed information overload for making it harder to keep the public engaged with the impeachment proceedings.
He said lawyers should focus on presenting evidence and matters that remain disputed instead of spending time on issues that have already been established or stipulated.
“So I guess the message here is, and this goes to both teams, avoid this waste of time,” Roy said.
“Your audience, the citizenry, is not as simple as you think. They get the point. They’re smart enough. They know,” he said.
