Don't look at the label, look at the actions.

This was House Committee on Justice Chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro's advice to Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyers, who have questioned the panel's jurisdiction on the impeachment proceedings against their client.

“I think it is totally wrong to base it on the name, on the nomenclature, or on the label," Luistro said in an online interview.

"Again, the correct basis to judge the constitutionality of the proceeding is the actions which the committee is actually doing for the purpose of responding to the requirements of the rules of impeachment," she said.

The tit-for-tat between Luistro and Duterte’s legal team began when the justice committee chairperson described the hearings for probable cause on the Vice President's impeachment complaints as a "mini-trial".

This gave ammunition to the Duterte camp, which subsequently questioned the House panel's authority to hold such a trial. It argued that under impeachment proceedings, only the Senate can hold an impeachment trial.

Luistro had since clarified that she only described it as such to help the public better understand what was going on in the justice panel.

She has repeatedly said that during the "hearings proper" stage, the committee isn't out to determine respondent Duterte’s guilt, but only find out whether or not there's probable cause in the two active impeachment complaints lodged against her.

"The real thing that's happening in the justice committee is a hearing proper, a clarificatory hearing, a determination of probable cause, and this is different, apart from the trial that will happen in the Senate," she said.

Turning to the Duterte camp, Luistro reckoned: "Dapat ang pinagba-basehan hindi ‘yung pangalang binanggit kung hindi ‘yung actual na nangyayari dito sa proceeding before the justice committee (The basis should not be the name mentioned, but the actual proceedings taking place here before the justice committee),"

“And again…that is a hearing proper, a clarificatory hearing akin to a preliminary investigation which purpose is to determine only probable cause defined as justification to be able to proceed to trial,” the Batangueña stressed.

Once probable cause is determined, the Luistro panel will endorse the complaints to the House plenary, which may vote to impeach Duterte and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.