Give credit where credit is due.

Ranking congressmen Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua and Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong gave Senator Rodante Marcoleta his flowers following the Senate plenary session Wednesday night, Aug. 6 when the former party-list solon arguably became man of the hour.

It was Marcoleta, a Senate neophyte, who stood in plenary and sought the outright dismissal of the House-prepared impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

And although his "motion to dismiss" was revised to "motion to archive", it was ultimately Marcoleta who got his way after his senator-colleagues upheld the archiving of the complaint via nominal vote result of 19-4-1 (yes-no-abstain).

"Siguro mas masasabi na lang po natin na si Senator Marcoleta ay isang abugado, mahusay din naman po. Alam naman po natin yan, nakasama po namin dito sa House (Perhaps what we can say is Senator Marcoleta is a lawyer, and a good one at that. We know that because he used to be our colleague here in the House)," Chua, chairman of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said in a press conference Thursday, Aug. 7.

Chua acknowledged that Marcoleta had the tools and the intellect to argue for his motion in front of more seasoned senators.

"Kaya siguro siya yung tamang tao na mas makakapaliwanag ng mga legal implications at makakasagot sa mga tanong na pupwedeng ibato dito po sa kanyang motion. Kasi kung hindi po abugado ang maghahain ng motion, baka po mas lalo pong hindi ma-justify yung kanilang motion na ihahain sa plenaryo," said the solon from Manila.

(That’s probably why he’s the right person to better explain the legal implications and answer the questions that may be raised regarding his motion. Because if the motion is not made by a lawyer, it might be even harder to justify the motion they’re submitting to the plenary.)

Speaking in the same presser, Adiong similarly gave props to the former SAGIP Party-list representative.

"There's no doubt naman po eh...na magaling naman talaga bilang abugado at bilang legislator. There's no doubt that his inclusion to the bloc is a strong addition doon sa kung ano man yung mga advocacies na ipinaglalaban nila," Adiong, a deputy majority leader, said.

(There's no doubt about it that he's a good lawyer and a good legislator. There's no doubt that his inclusion to the bloc is a strong addition to whatever advocacies they are fighting for.)

"Talaga namang maroon siyang kakayahan bilang legislator (He is truly capable as a legislator)," he added.

During one point in the marathon Senate plenany session, Senators Imee Marcos, Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, and Robinhood "Robin" Padilla all hurled behind Marcoleta while seemingly in awe of the lawyer's ability to elucidate his position.

Marcoleta likened the House impeachment complaint to "undercooked rice"--a description that, whether accurate or not--stuck with those who watched the proceedings.