House prosecution panel spokesman, lawyer Antonio Bucoy said it wasn't fair for Senate President Francis Chiz Escudero to be dismissive of the Philippine Constitution Association's (PhilCONSA) criticism of the Senate impeachment court just because of the group's leader.

Bucoy, in a press conference Tuesday, June 17, agreed that Escudeo was being dismissive of PhilCONSA just because its president was House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Escudero is the presiding judge of the Senate impeachment court that is supposed to hear the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte. The complaint originated from the Romualdez’s chamber, the House of Representatives.

That’s not fair. Because you judge the position based on the merit of what was said. Hindi yung personalidad (It's not about the personality), Bucoy said.

Sa palagay, si Speaker Romualdez ay kayang impluensyahan ang pag-iisip ni dating Chief Justice [Reynato] Puno? (Do you think Speaker Romualdez kay influence the thinking of ex-Chief Justice Reynato Puno?) I don't think so, said the lawyer.

Puno is the chairman of PhilCONSA, the oldest and most respectable association of legal luminaries, as well as business and socio-civic leaders in the country. It was founded on Sept. 26, 1961.

Bucoy said the same was also true in that the ex-chief magistrate will not and cannot influence the mindset of the Speaker of the House.

So my take is that the argument is based on the merit of the argument, not on the personality. Hindi po personality-based yan, merit-based (It's not personality-based, it's merit-based).

PhilCONSA Chairman Puno recently said that as far as the group is concerned, the Senate President may have exercised grave abuse of discretion in the impeachment proceedings.

This was in connection with the Senate impeachment court's decision last week to remand or return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives.

Ako sumasangayon sa sinabi ni Chief Justice Renato Puno sapagkat ang mga naging actuation and ruling ni Senate President Chiz Escudero as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, ay wala sa saligang batas yan kagaya ng pag-remand. Ang pag-'remand' ibig sabihin yung lower court should reconsider, Bucoy said.

(I agree with Chief Justice Renato Puno's statement because the actions and rulings of Senate President Chiz Escudero, as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, are not found in the Constitution such as the remand process. The term 'remand' means that the lower court should reconsider the case.)

Gaya na nabanggit ko kanina wala hong salitang remand sa impeachment, hindi angkop ang remand sa impeachment. Yung remand ay para sa ordinaryong kaso sa ordinaryong hukuman but never sa impeachment court, he stressed.

(As I mentioned earlier, the word remand does not exist in the context of impeachment. Remand is not applicable to impeachment proceedings. It is a process meant for ordinary cases in regular courts but never for an impeachment court.)