The soft-spoken but frank Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin felt compelled to respond to her colleague Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco's claim that the House of Representatives-led impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte negatively affected the administration Senate slate's chances in Mindanao.

"Kailangan kong sagutin yun. Pangit naman sabihin na yung mga pumirma sa impeachment ay dahil sa pera at dahil dun sa mga conditional release. Kaya nga conditional release, hindi nirelease yung project mo. Eh paano ka naman matutuwa nun di ba? Parang hindi tugma," said Garin, who posted a 32-minute long Facebook live video on the matter on Monday night, May 19.

(I need to address this issue. It’s unfair to say those who signed the impeachment did so because of money or the conditional release. Conditional release means the projects weren’t funded—how would that make someone happy? That reasoning doesn’t add up.)

Garin, a deputy majority leader in the 19th Congress, started the video by calling Tiangco--the campaign manager of the administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial ticket--as a "very good friend whom I respect".

"Subalit medyo nagulat lang ako kasi I have to admit, I was one of those who signed the impeachment not because mayroon akong personal vendetta, hindi rin dahil sa pamumulitika, but because it's our moral obligation," she said.

(However, I was a bit surprised because, I must admit, I was one of those who signed the impeachment—not because I had a personal vendetta, or because of political maneuvering, but because it was our moral obligation.)

"Kasi kumpleto ang complaint, nakabinbin sa Kongreso. Hindi mo siya pwedeng pabayaan na lang at huwag i-forward [sa Senado] (The complaint was complete and pending in Congress. You can't just ignore it and refuse to forward it to the Senate)," noted Garin, a stalwart of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD)

Almost immediately after the elections when only six out of the 11 Alyansa candidates were winning, Tiangco gave interviews to several media outlets and blamed the House's impeachment of Duterte for the administration bets' poor showing in Mindanao, which carried 24 percent of all votes.

Tiangco also said that President Marcos' "political capital was sold" through the impeachment and it was a way for the solon-signatories to access project funds under conditional release. At least 215 House members signed the impeachment complaint last Feb. 5, six days before the start of the campaign period.

"I have to speak up because our credibility is at stake already...Parang hindi ko talaga maintindihan na hinold nga yung mga projects tapos pipirma ka ng impeachment para i-release yung project? Hindi ganun eh. Sorry ha pero parang ang layo," a visibly miffed Garin said in her video rant.

(I really can't understand the claim that projects were held back, yet signing an impeachment complaint would ensure their release? That’s not how it works. Sorry, but I can't see the connection.)

"So unang-una, kapag sinabing conditional release ang sinabi noon yung mga projects specificallly infrastructure projects in the district ay na-hold. Dahil mayroon, yun nga, narinig natin yung sinabi ng iba na may nag-intriga, na hindi raw naman kailangan or iaassess pa kung alin doon ang kailangan, alin naman doon ang di kailangan," explained the former Department of Health (DOH) secretary.

(First and foremost, when you say 'conditional release', it refers specifically to infrastructure projects in the districts being put on hold. Because we've heard about others sowing intrigues, with some saying certain projects weren’t needed, others saying they needed reassessment to determine which were necessary and which weren’t.)

"So yung bagay na ito will actually not trigger a member of Congress to sign an impeachment complaint. Kasi usually nun syempre, sa totoo nun, mayroon kang konting--parang mayroon kang doubt na, 'Bakit iho-hold?' Kasi dumaan siya sa proseso, dumaan siya sa budget process, At ini-inspect na yan ng ating mga kababayan," Garin said.

(This kind of situation wouldn’t actually trigger a member of Congress to sign an impeachment complaint. The truth is, usually, there would be some doubt—'Why is this being held?' After all, it went through the process, the budget process and was inspected by our constituents.)

Garin further said: "Ito yung mga bagay-bagay na kapag sinabing conditional release, ay dalawa yan. Pwedeng hindi na i-release, hindi na pondohan at chances are itong mga school buildings na to ay hindi ipagpapatuloy sa taong ito. So hopefully we can make representations again para maliwanagan na ito ay kailangan."

(When it comes to conditional release, there are two possibilities: either the funding won’t be released at all, or school buildings that were meant to be constructed won’t be completed this year. Hopefully, we can clarify these issues and advocate for what’s necessary.)

Despite her candidmess, the majority lawmaker was quite apologetic with her statements throughout her video.

"Pasensya napo ano syempre kaibigan ko rin yung mga ibang magsasalita (I apologize because some of those speaking out are my friends). But I really don't believe the filing of the impeachment was the cause of the defeat of some of our Alyansa candidates."

"Sa panananaw ko yun ay dapat pag-usapan in the four corners of a conference room. Where the issues will be dissected, matitignan paano, bakit, magkaroon ng explanation. And lessons learned para sa susunod na may kampanya ay hindi na maulit," said the Iloilo solon.

(From my perspective, that’s something that should be discussed within the four corners of a conference room. Where issues can be dissected, analyzed, explained, and lessons learned in order to avoid a repeat in future campaigns.)

She also said the very public blame game and finger-pointing wasn't a good look for the House of Representatives.