House panel junks impeachment complaints filed against Marcos
The House of Representatives’ committee on justice has formally dismissed the impeachment complaints against President Marcos, after 39 members of the panel voted to approve the committee report.
During the hearing on Monday, the committee report was presented to the committee on justice, which sparked discussions when members of the Makabayan bloc questioned why the report on the insufficiency of the two complaints against Marcos claimed that there were no factual allegations made.
Eventually, the matter was put to a vote, with only four members opposing the report.
Two complaints were filed against the President. Lawyer Andre de Jesus submitted the first impeachment complaint on Jan. 19, while members of the Makabayan coalition filed their own petition on Jan. 22.
On Feb. 3, after referral to the committee on justice, the two complaints were declared sufficient in form. However, a day after, both were deemed insufficient in substance.
For the De Jesus complaint, 42 members voted to dismiss the complaint, with only its endorser, Pusong Pinoy Rep. Jernie Jett Nisay, voting to find it sufficient in substance.
For the second impeachment complaint filed by the Makabayan coalition, 39 members voted to declare it insufficient in substance while seven voted in favor.
Fatal defects
Lawmakers assailed the De Jesus complaint for what they described as fatal defects, saying its allegations were largely based on speculation, media reports, and hearsay. De Jesus sought Mr. Marcos’ removal over alleged drug use, corruption, and other acts that lawmakers said were unsupported by evidence.
Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice said allegations that Mr. Marcos used illegal drugs were hearsay, while claims that the President created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to shield corrupt allies could not be considered impeachable offenses.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. echoed this view, saying that while the ICI should have been given stronger investigative and subpoena powers, its establishment alone was not an impeachable act.
As early as January, several lawmakers had said the De Jesus complaint was weak and could be easily dismissed for lack of form and substance, prompting the Makabayan coalition to file its own impeachment complaint.
The Makabayan complaint cited three grounds: the alleged institutionalization of corruption through the “BBM Parametric Formula,” alleged abuse of discretionary powers in the allocation and use of unprogrammed appropriations, and alleged direct personal involvement in budgetary insertions and kickback schemes.
But during the hearing, committee vice chair and San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora questioned the sufficiency of the Makabayan complaint, saying that an imperfect policy such as the so-called BBM Parametric Formula could not be considered an impeachable offense.
No prior knowledge
Malacañang, meanwhile, welcomed the dismissal of the impeachment complaints against the President, adding that it would respect the decision of lawmakers should the plenary overturn the justice panel’s vote.
“The President hopes that even though impeachment is considered a political tool, the members of the House of Representatives will base their actions solely on the evidence presented and the discussions held at the committee on justice. The President himself is confident that he has not committed any impeachable offense,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday.
Earlier, Castro also said, “We are pleased that due process was followed, and we are thankful that the lawmakers were able to see what the truth really is. We always stand by the truth. We saw that the complaints truly had no merit.”
The Palace denied allegations that the President had already known beforehand that the impeachment complaints against him would be dismissed at committee level, given that the lower chamber is dominated and led by his allies.
“He was confident that the impeachment complaints would not prosper because to his knowledge, he did not nothing wrong, and everything he did was in accordance with the law,” Castro said.
“But whatever happens at the House of Representatives, specifically at the committee on justice, he does not know and does not control that,” she said.
