The 2025 delay did that. Months of sitting on the Articles of Impeachment while the country waited, and then the whole "forthwith" debate that somehow became a philosophy seminar.
Civil society groups said it when his name came up again: putting him back at the helm was "perhaps the most imperfect and one of the most dangerous" options. Hard to argue with that.
The apprehension is still here, today, as I write this. But MCT doesn't work that way. Praise the good. Criticize the bad. Whoever it is.
So. If you've been watching the trial today, you probably saw the same thing I did.
Objections come in, he addresses them before they stack. Documents get raised, he moves them through without losing the thread.
A senator-judge cuts in mid-argument, he rules and the room keeps moving.
You can see the experience in how he traffics everything. No wonder the majority pushed for him as presiding officer. That efficiency is real.
That's what I expected from him in 2025 and never got. Doesn't erase anything. But it's there, and I'm not going to pretend it isn't just because it's him.
And I'll be watching. Because from where I'm standing, Escudero is operating on a very short leash. The goodwill runs exactly as far as the next bad ruling.