The House prosecution panel spokesman Antonio Bucoy chided the Vice President Sara Duterte's camp for questioning the procedure of the impeachment process instead of directly answering the articles of impeachment.

Bucoy said this action was contrary to the Vice President Duterte's previous tough talk wherein she allegedly wanted a bloodbath to take place in the Senate impeachment trial.

Ilinihis yung usapin sa factual allegations of the complaint. Ililihis using procedural issues. Hindi ito yung bloodbath na inaasahan namin (They're diverting from the factual allegations of the complaint. They're diverting using procedural issues. This isn't the bloodbath we were expecting), Bucoy said in a virtual press conference Tuesday, June 24.

On Monday, June 23, the Vice President's camp furnished the prosecution team a copy of its answer ad cautelam to then Senate impeachment court's order for the impeached officer to respond to the impeachment complaint.

Bucoy said ad cautelam means, for caution.

The complaint, which was submitted to the House by the Senate way back on Feb. 5, comtianed the seven articles of impeachment against the lady official.

The Vice President's answer didn't sit well with Bucoy, since it only asked the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the complaint outright for supposedly violating the one-impeachment-case-per-year rule. It also claimed that the articles of impeachment was not with the court.

Ito po yung tinatawag na wagging the dog, na pinapalitaw na mas importante ang procedure kaysa constitutional law and principles. And importante is the substance (This is what we called wagging the dog, or to make it appear that that the procedure is more important than constitutional law and principles). Those who cannot address the substance, they rely on technical procedures. Which is what she did here, he said.

The lawyer-spokesman said the Duterte defense team's move was expected.

Umaasa sila na through technicality, eh makakalusot si Vice President Sara at ididismiss na ito (They expect that through technicality, Vice President Sara would get off the hook and the complaint would get dismissed). That is the whole purpose of this answer ad cautelam.

Nonetheless, itutuloy mamin ang paglalahad ng ebidensya sapagkat mahalaga na malaman ng mamamayan kung ano yung sakdal (we will continue to present the evidence because it's important for the people to know the allegation), Bucoy said.

Is this going to be a bloodbath that she wants, and she insists? Well, we'll see the trial to its conclusion. Whether it would be a bloodbath or not, nasa sa kanya ho yan (that will be up to her), he said of the Vice President.

Asked if the Duterte camp was being evasive to what would be presented during the trial proper, Bucoy replied, Absolutely.

Their is no justifiable reason to dismiss [the impeachment complaint] without a trial, he said.