Academic Analysis of Rule 18 Sub Judice Rule Abandonment
Academic Analysis of Rule 18 Sub Judice Rule Abandonment Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™ October 13, 2026 The selective abandonment of Rule 18’s sub judice restriction—effectuated as the concomitant of the prosecution’s unilateral withdrawal of Articles I, III, and IV—compromises the structural integrity of due process and the conditions of fairness that the rule is designed to secure for the defense in an ongoing impeachment trial. In the Senate impeachment court proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte (as of 13 October 2026), Rule 18 of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials prohibits the presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, the respondent, counsel, and witnesses from making public comments or disclosures concerning the merits of matters pending adjudication. Its purpose is classically prophylactic: to avert trial by media, to insulate the tribunal from extrajudicial pressure or contamination of the evidentiary field, and thereby to preserve both the app...
