Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro rejected the notion that the House prosecution team was "beaten" on the first day of Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial.

In fact, Luistro, the lead prosecutor, was quite adamant that they were "victorious" Monday, July 6.

"Hindi po kami talo (We did not lose). As a matter of fact, we are very much happy because impeachment is happening now," she said in a press conference after the hearing.

"The impeachment trial is happening now. That is the most important part of what happened today," underscored Luistro.

During the hearing, the impeachment court presided by Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero decided that it will follow the constitutional two-thirds vote--or 16 out of 24 senator-judges--to render conviction on Duterte.

This, even as some House members called for the lowering of the conviction threshold given that at least three senator-judges--Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, Jinggoy Estrada, and Rodante Marcoleta were facing legal troubles and may not be able to participate in the trial.

All three are perceived to be Duterte supporters.

Also during the proceedings, the court ordered that the mysterious, sealed green box allegedly containing tax records of Vice President Duterten and her husband be sent back to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Escudero ruled that the documents inside the so-called BIR box were not yet under the court's custody and have not been admitted as evidence in the case. Prosecutors have said that these documents were key to proving allegations of unexplained wealth on the part of the respondent.

Amid these supposed setbacks, Luistro said: "We were able to witness na nangyayari na kung ano ang mandato ng Constitution (We were able to witness the mandate of the Constitution at work). And we claim that as a victory for the prosecution because the trial is happening already."

"We are victorious. Tagumpay ang prosecution (The prosecution won). Tagumpay ang taumbayan (The peopel won) because we have waited for this impeachment trial for so long and it is happening right now," she said.

"That alone, we claim victory for what happened today," stressed the Batangueña.

Luistro took the issue of the conviction threshold in stride.

"Merong arguments for 16 [votes], merong arguments na (There are arguments for 16 votes, there are arguments that] it should be based on the number of senators who are attending in the impeachment proceedings.

"Ang importante, maliwanag ang posisyon ng impeachment court (What's important is that the impeachment court has a clear position) and for the prosecution, regardless of how we interpret the threshold, we are of course committed to present the evidence and conclude with a successful result of this impeachment trial," she said.

Luistro further said: "Sixteen man yan, 15 man yan, 14 man yan (Be it 16, 15, or 14), we are confident that our evidence is strong."

Meanwhile, House impeachment adviser Robert Ace Barbers said during the same presser that the court’s decision to return the BIR box "does not erase its value as evidence".

He said the prosecution may offer the tax records again at the proper stage of what was pegged as a months-long trial.

“At the proper time, ibabalik po ito, i-o-offer po ulit ito ng ating prosecution (it will be returned, it will be offered again by the prosecution), and hopefully the court will admit this as an evidence,” Barbers, also a spokesperson for the prosecutors, said.

He stressed that the records remained relevant even if they were not yet in the impeachment court's custody.