Akbayan Party-list Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima clarified on Monday morning, March 2 that the withdrawal of the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte wasn't an act of retreat.

"Gusto ko pong diinan, hindi po ito pag-atras. Ito po ay pag-sulong na gusto nating matiyak na isang air-tight case ang aakyat sa Senado sa lalong madaling panahon (I want to emphasize: this is not a retreat. This is a step forward, ensuring that an air‑tight case will reach the Senate at the soonest possible time)," Cendaña said in a chance interview Monday.

He and De Lima--along with representatives of civil society group Tindig Pilipinas--formally submitted a withdrawal letter to the Office of the Secretary General ahead of the Committee on Justice hearing on Duterte's impeachment case at 10 a.m. Monday.

Cendaña and De Lima were the endorsers of the particular complaint, while members of Tindig Pilipinas led by Francis Aquino Dee were the complainants. Three other verified impeachment raps against Duterte remained following the withdrawal.

"We don't see any problem...tinutulungan pa nga ng second group of complainants yung kumite na mapabilis na ma-consolidate yung efforts lalo na pagdating sa evidentiary stage of the proceedings," De Lima said.

(In fact, the second group of complainants is even helping the committee expedite the consolidation of efforts, especially when it comes to the evidentiary stage of the proceedings.)

De Lima, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary, noted that the complaints filed shared common allegations and evidence. She says discussing all of these details would only prolong the committee deliberations.

"We believe this action will make the process towards accountability more expedient. We also would not want to provide any opportunity to VP Duterte's camp to question the schedule by which we have filed the complaint," read the withdrawal letter.

De Lima noted that time was against the justice panel.

"Ilan na lang ang session days remaining? Kasi mayroon deadline [na] hahabulin ang House, yan ay dapat mag-adjourn sine die, mai-transmit na ang articles of impeachment sa senado. Yan po ang constitutional deadline na hinahabol natin," she said.

(How many session days remain? Because the House is working against a deadline, it must adjourn sine die and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate. That is the constitutional deadline we are racing to meet.)

"The committee has 60 session days within which to complete all its work at the committee level and submit its report and recommendation to the plenary. So [the time is] limited," explained the former senator.

At any rate, De Lima said Tindig Pilipinas will continue to be part of the proceedings. "Nandyan sila. Yung kanilang pagiging interested parties, nandyan pa rin. So hindi sila actually mawawala sa eksena dahil tumutulong nga sila sa buong proseso."

(They are there. Their status as interested parties remains. So they will not actually disappear from the scene, since they are actively helping throughout the process.)