Manila, July 22 -- Lengthy legal lectures that stray from the evidence and testimony are unnecessarily prolonging Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo said Wednesday.

In an ambush interview at the Senate, Tulfo said senator-judges could help speed up proceedings by pointing out mistakes directly instead of revisiting basic legal principles already familiar to the prosecution and defense lawyers.

"Dapat iyong puntuhin na lang iyong tungkol sa ebidensya, tungkol doon sa testimonya (The questions should focus on the evidence and the testimony)," Tulfo said.

He noted that some discussions resemble "Law 101" lectures and veer away from the matters being presented before the impeachment court.

"Hindi r...