Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has set the record straight on the supposed face-off between lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro and the impeached Vice President Sara Duterte's lead defense counsel, lawyer Sheila Sison during the recent pre-trial conference.

This, after an online report claimed that Luistro, the House Committee on Justice chairperson, was "outgunned" during the conference.

Ridon, who was in attendance as part of the House prosecution panel, said on Saturday, June 20 that no such drubbing took place.

"Wala pong nangyaring pag-outshine, pag-outgun, at pag-kain ng buhay kay Congresswoman Luistro. Parang hindi ho mangyayari yun," Ridon said in a media interview.

(There was no outshining, outgunning, or "eating alive" of Congresswoman Luistro. That kind of thing did not happen.)

"Kaya ang tanong ho namin doon sa nagpakalat sa ganung kuwento, saang planetary nangyari yan pong bagay na yan? Wala pong kinain nang buhay. Ang meron alam ko, may kumain ng lumpia, kasi masarap ho yung hinain na pagkain ng Senate impeachment court doon po sa dalawang panig," said the outspoken congressman.

(The question we have for whoever spread that story is: on what planet did that supposedly occur? No one was “eaten alive.” What I know is that someone ate lumpia, because the food served by the Senate impeachment court to both sides was delicious.)

The pre-trial conference took place at the Senate last Thursday, June 18. Journalists weren't allowed to cover it, although this hasn't stopped rumor-mongers from giving their version of what went down.

According to Ridon, there weren't any contentious issues during the proceedings, so reports of fireworks between the prosecution and defense appeared overblown.

"Very accurate naman po yung inihayag din po eh nung prosecution at defense panel po nung nagdaan kung saan mayroon pong ilang mga pinag-usapan pero wala pong naging mahigpit na pagtatalo sa pagitan po ng dalawang panig," Ridon shared.

(The statements made by both the prosecution and defense panels were accurate, with some matters discussed but no heated arguments between the two sides.There were no major contentious issues.)

This notwithstanding, a source close to the proceedings said that the Luistro-led panel pretty much "got what they wanted" during the conference.

One of the main issues Thursday was the defense’s attempt to expand stipulations, or matters that both sides could already agree upon.

The prosecution team opposed this. “The defense team tried to prolong, the prosecutors led by Cong Jinky, objected,” said the source.

In the end, the public and private prosecutors succeeded in limiting stipulations only to what was necessary, and prevented the process from dragging on.

This outcome contradicted social media posts and political narratives claiming the defense had managed to lengthen the pre-trial conference.

The source also confirmed an earlier statement from prosecution panel spokesperson Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, who chided the Vice President's defense team for submitting witnesses' names that have already been listed by the prosecution.

Some documents that were submitted as evidence by the prosecutors to the Senate impeachment court were also reportedly mirrored by the defense.

As a result, parts of the defense’s pre-trial submissions drew objections from the prosecution team.

Other sources also denied impressions that only one prosecutor was acting for the House panel. They said Luistro was acting as lead prosecutor but with full authority and support of the entire prosecution team before the impeachment court.

Duterte didn't attend the pre-trial conference.