Batangas 2nd district Gerville Luistro remained firm on the Senate rules on impeachment, which doesn’t contain any provision to allow the dismissal of the impeachment complaint, contrary to the call of the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Definitely, if there will be move or request towards the dismissal of the impeachment complaint, io-oppose namin yon. I said it earlier that the Senate rules on impeachment does not speak about dismissal,” she said

[“Definitely, if there will be move or request towards the dismissal of the impeachment complaint, we’ll oppose that. I said it earlier that the Senate rules on impeachment does not speak about dismissal.”]

According to VP Duterte’s defense team spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa, their team is hoping for the dismissal of the articles of impeachment. However, he noted that if the request is denied, they are fully prepared to show up.

“As I said, ultimately, dismissal po ng articles of impeachment at titingnan natin kung ano yung mangyari sa proceedings and we will participate and definitely we will abide by what is constitution permissible into constitutional processes later,” he said

Poa added that the gist of their response focuses on the infirmities in the House Committee on Justice proceedings before being transmitted to the Senate.

“Sa tingin namin, may mga infirmities yung proceedings bago pa umakyat sa Senado itong articles of impeachment. Ah but having said that na sabi ko nga eh maliban doon eh sumagot din kami on the substantive issues,” he said

[“For us, there were infirmities in the proceedings before these articles of impeachment reached the Senate. But having said that, I said, aside from that, we also answered on the substantive issues.”]

Meanwhile, Luistro explained that in the Senate impeachment rule, once the trial concludes, the decision could be either a conviction or an acquittal.

“The rules neither speak about remand nor about clarification. Ang sinasabi lamang po ng Senate rules on impeachment, trial. And after trial, the judgment is either conviction or acquittal,” she said

[“The rules neither speak about remand nor about clarification. What the Senate rules on impeachment says is trial. And after trial, the judgment is either conviction or acquittal.”]

Bicol Saro Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon observed that the Vice President’s response seemed to be a rehash or a repetition of the same previous response.

“It should be noted that the answer appears to be a rehash of the Vice President’s previous non-answer before the House Committee on Justice,” he said

He further noted that the defense didn’t address the Vice President’s threats against President Bongbong Marcos Jr.

“Based on the released Executive Summary, the answer also does not appear to directly address the Vice President’s threats against the President – and act made well within her term as Vice President and in full public view,” he added