Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro set a somewhat defiant tone in the resumption of the House Committee on Justice's impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, April 14.

Luistro, chairperson of justice committee did so by referencing the viral song “Hawak Mo ang Beat” by DJ Mogo.

In her opening statement, Luistro noted that there are now four petitions filed before the Supreme Court (SC) all seeking the stoppage of the House panel hearings.

According to the second-term congresswoman, the House is acting within the powers that it possesses under the 1987 Constitution.

“Sa atin ang unang galaw. Sa atin ang direksyon. Gaya ng sabi ng mga kabataan, ‘Hawak natin ang beat (The first move is ours. The direction is ours. As the youth say, ‘We hold the beat'),'” Luistro said.

“As I said earlier, we have the exclusive power to impeach. At ang ibig sabihin ng ‘exclusive’ ay malinaw: Sa Kamara nagsisimula ang impeachment process (And the meaning of ‘exclusive’ is clear: The impeachment process begins in the House)," she added.

Luistro pointed out that the four petitions--filed by either Vice President Duterte legal team's or her supporters and allies--all tackled mere technicalities and not the allegations mentioned in the two active impeachment complaints.

She once again addressed the claim that the justice committee had already crossed into a "trial" and was supposedly intruding into the Senate’s turf.

“The House initiates. The Senate decides,” said Luistro

She said the distinction is neither vague nor debatable because the Constitution itself assigns different roles to the two chambers.

“Under the Constitution, the House has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. Ang papel natin ay suriin at alamin kung may sapat na basehan para dalhin ang kaso sa Senado (Our role is to examine and determine whether there is sufficient basis to bring the case to the Senate),” the lawyer-solon explained.

On the other hand, the Senate sits as the impeachment court and decides whether an impeachable official is guilty or not guilty.

Luistro underscored: "This is not a trial. This is just a clarificatory hearing for the determination of probable cause."

Vice President Duterte, the respondent in the impeachment case, was nowhere to be found at the hearing when the "presentation of evidence" began at past 11 a.m.

The seat designated for her was kept empty during the proceedings.

Attending the hearing was alleged Vice President Duterte "bagman", detainee Ramil Madriaga. He was taken to the House of Representatives from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) under heavy guard early morning Tuesday.

Madriaga wore a helmet, a bulletproof vest, and handcuffs when he was brought before the panel. His helmet and handcuffs were subsequently removed.

Also attending the proceedings was lawyer Michael Poa, a member of Duterte’s legal team. Poa formerly served as spokesperson of the Department of Education (DepEd) under the Vice President's tenure as education secretary.