Bersamin: Palace ‘not blocking’ impeachment moves vs Duterte
Contrary to the view that he is the “biggest stumbling block” to making Vice President Sara Duterte accountable, President Marcos is not obstructing the three impeachment complaints against his estranged ally.
In a joint statement earlier this week, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said the President’s initial remark that impeaching Duterte would be a waste of time may have dissuaded his allies in the House from supporting the complaints.
‘Dangerous obstruction’
The lawmakers of the Makabayan bloc said the “hesitation to transmit and initiate impeachment proceedings” clearly stemmed from Mr. Marcos’ previous statements, adding that “this interference represents a dangerous obstruction of constitutional processes and democratic accountability.”
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Friday said Mr. Marcos’ thoughts on the impeachment complaints against Duterte were just his opinion and Malacañang cannot dictate its wishes to Congress, since both are coequal branches of the government.
“Let’s understand this in the proper context. The President was asked, ‘Are you in favor of impeachment?’ Of course he wouldn’t say if he is in favor or not, because that is the prerogative of Congress,” he told reporters following an event at the Philippine International Convention Center.
“If the President has made a statement at all about that process, it is only an opinion that he stated because probably, the thinking of the President is that it might be distracting us from our agenda or our move forward.”
In November last year, Mr. Marcos called on his allies in Congress not to waste time impeaching Duterte as she was “unimportant” in the larger scheme of things, and that the move would bog down Congress.
‘Practical matter’
According to the three impeachment complaints against Duterte, she misused millions of pesos in confidential funds as Vice President and as Education Secretary until last year.
The charges include culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption.
Last week, the President said he agreed with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile’s warning that the country will face a “very detrimental precedent” if due process were not followed in the impeachment complaints.
However, Mr. Marcos said it was not the time to go through such a process, given that lawmakers would soon be campaigning in the midterm polls.
“I don’t think that now is the time to go through that. So let’s leave it to the House. Besides, as a practical matter, we will be entering the campaign period. There’s no more congressmen or senators because they will be campaigning already and we can’t reach a quorum. And so, as a practical matter, the timing is very poor,” the President said.
These remarks did not sit well with the Makabayan bloc, which called the Chief Executive the “biggest stumbling block to achieving accountability in corruption cases” and holding Duterte accountable through impeachment.
‘Coequal branch’
The Makabayan solons said the President was behind the delay in the progress of the impeachment complaints, which have languished in the Office of the House Secretary General since these were filed in December last year.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco had acknowledged the three complaints were pending with his office after he was told by 12 lawmakers that a fourth impeachment complaint would be filed. He said he will forward the three complaints to the office of Speaker Martin Romualdez if no new complaints are filed by Thursday.
Bersamin said the Palace cannot impose its wishes on Congress.
“We cannot dictate on the Lower House. It belongs to a coequal branch of government. All we were saying, the President was saying to the Lower House is, ‘This is my position.’ But he is not blocking, he is not blocking. He cannot do that,” Bersamin said.
The Chief Executive’s anti-impeachment stance was also supported by the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), which held a massive rally on Jan. 13 to call on lawmakers to address more important issues and not to engage in politicking by moving to impeach the Vice President.
However, Enrile warned of a “very detrimental precedent” if the implied logic of the INC’s National Rally for Peace will be followed and said there will be “long-term consequences of such a move.” —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
