Sen. Robin Padilla has apologized to House prosecutor Terry Ridon after mistakenly attributing to him remarks about the participation of detained senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
During a television interview, Padilla criticized members of the House prosecution panel for allegedly opposing the participation of detained senators in the impeachment court. He identified Ridon and former senator Leila de Lima as among those who supposedly made the remarks.
Ridon immediately denied the claim, saying he had never questioned the participation of detained senator-judges in the impeachment proceedings.
“His remarks are without basis. They are absolutely fake news,” Ridon said, adding that the House prosecution panel has “the highest respect” for the Senate impeachment court and its senator-judges.
In a Facebook post later Saturday, Padilla issued a public apology to Ridon and acknowledged that he had confused him with another lawmaker.
“I would like to apologize. I wish to clarify that it was actually Congressman Joel Chua who made that comment,” Padilla said.
He explained that he mistakenly recalled Ridon’s name because both had backgrounds in progressive movements.
Ridon accepted the apology, saying he appreciated Padilla’s clarification.
“Maraming salamat Senator-Judge Robinhood Padilla sa inyo pong pahayag. Hangad po namin na maitaguyod natin ang paglilitis na nakabatay sa katotohanan at katapatan sa ating mga tungkulin para sa bayan at para sa katarungan,” Ridon said.
At a news forum on Saturday, Ridon said Padilla had also personally reached out to explain that he was not referring to Ridon in discussing the issue of detained senator-judges.
The exchange came after several days of public disagreements between Padilla and members of the House prosecution panel over the conduct of Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial. Padilla has accused prosecutors of being “one-sided,” while Ridon has rejected the allegation and maintained that the prosecution is carrying out its constitutional mandate.
