A legal luminary from Mindanao couldn't help but be disappointed by the quality of Vice President Sara Duterte's Consolidated Answer Ad Cautelam, despite it being crafted by 16 lawyers from the respondent's defense team.

Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez had this to say Wednesday, March 18 during the House Committee on Justice hearing on Duterte’s impeachment case.

"I have read the consolidated verified answer and ad cautelam, 'with caution'. And certainly I would express my disappointment with the legal team of the Vice President, who has 16 lawyers, who have signed this particular answer," Rodriguez said.

The justice committee chaired by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro earlier ordered the Vice President to answer in writing all the allegations of impeachable offenses, spread across multiple complaints.

"In an answer, the grounds which were averted to in the third complaint, six grounds, should have been answered one by one because there is a finding by the committee of sufficiency in substance of the six," said the former law dean of San Sebastian College-Recoletos in Manila.

"Since the committee voted for the entire third complaint to be sufficient in substance, it behooves upon the lawyers--I was a practicing lawyer before [for] quite some time--and I admit many of the lawyers of the Vice President are very good," Rodriguez said, as if to say that the 16 counsel-signatories could have done more for their beleaguered client.

"However, in this case, there is no answer to the six grounds of the third complaint. And also no direct answer the five grounds...in the fourth complaint," he noted.

"I therefore am surprised that in this particular case there is no discussion per ground and therefore would not give us the real answer of the respondent to the six and five grounds," Rodriguez further said.

Technically, the camp of Duterte--a fellow Mindanaonon--did offer what appeared to be a response to the allegation that the Office of the President (OVP) spent P125 million worth of confidential funds in an 11-day period in December 2022.

"I would say that there is an answer, but precisely it does not have the facts that would constitute the real answer so a hearing would be required on this particular matter," said the House's resident law expert.

Rodriguez was of the opinion that the remaining complaints should be declared sufficient in grounds so that the justice panel can move to the "hearings proper" stage.

"I have heard the Vice President say that Mary Grace Piattos will be explained; the 11 days would be explained, of the P125 million. But unfortunately it's not here [in the consolidated answer]," he said.

Mary Grace Piattos is an amalgam of a name of a popular local cafe and a brand of potato chips. It was listed on acknowledgment receipts as a beneficiary of the confidential funds.

Other bogus-sounding names that also reportedly received secret funds were Mico Harina, Ralph Josh Bacon, Patty Ting, Sala Casim, Amoy Liu, Fernan Amuy, Joug De Asim, and Xiaome Ocho.

Aside from the confidential funds issue, Rodriguez says he finds as substantial the death threat issued by Duterte against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in 2024.