The House of Representatives on Thursday, June 19, clarified that it did not refuse to receive from a courier a purported letter confirming the appearance of Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial.

House Spokesperson Princess Abante made a statement after Duterte's camp supposedly furnished House prosecutors a copy of the entry of appearance.

However, it was supposedly refused by the House, according to Senate impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol, citing notes on the documents provided to them by the defense team.

Abante said the House did not deliberately reject the letter.

What happened according to her was that a courier brought the letter with neither any information about the sender nor the subject. It did not even have any cover letter or a formal explanation.

“Kaya’t hindi ito agad tinanggap—hindi dahil tinanggihan, kundi dahil kailangang malinawan muna ang layunin at tamang pagproseso (That's why it wasn't immediately accepted—not because it was refused, but because it had no clear intention and did not undergo appropriate process),” Abante said.

She said there was no bad intention coming from the House about the supposed refusal of the letter.

“Ang hinanap lang ay ang tamang pagkilala sa dokumento. Kung ito ay Entry of Appearance, sana ay sinabi na lang agad—upang naiproseso ito nang maayos (What we were looking for was proper identification of the document. If it was an entry of appearance, it must have been told so, so it was processed properly),” she added.

Abante also stressed that an entry of appearance was not a requirement for the trial to roll out, as Tongol said there could be another delay in the start of the trial due to the House's refusal.

She says it does not have any effect on the trial, and it is not the reason why up until now, there is no trial.

“Ang Kamara ay nakatupad na sa tungkulin nito. Naipasa na namin ang articles of impeachment sa Senado. Nasa kapangyarihan na po ng Senado ang susunod na hakbang. Kung may pagkaantala, hindi ito galing sa House (The House already complied with its responsibility. We already submitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate. It's now in the hands of the Senate. If there's any delay, it's surely not coming from the House),” she said.

“Sa gitna ng mga isyung ito, pakiusap lang sa tagapagsalita ng Senado: huwag sanang lituhin ang publiko (Amid these issues, we send this appeal to the Senate spokesperson: please do not confuse the public),” she added.

Abante said Tongol must not use clerical details as a reason to blame the House. It must not also turn the latest development into a soap opera, she added.