HOUSE Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos said the House of Representatives will not block and will properly act on any impeachment complaint filed against his father, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., or any other impeachable official.
In a statement on Saturday, Marcos said the House is duty-bound under the 1987 Constitution to act on any impeachment complaint once it is filed with the Office of the House Secretary General and transmitted to the Office of the Speaker.
The Office of the Speaker, in turn, will refer the matter to the Committee on Rules for inclusion in the Order of Business and referral to the Committee on Justice.
“Congress has a constitutional duty to refer the impeachment complaint to the House Committee on Justice once it is scheduled in the Order of Business and read at the plenary,” Marcos said.
He added that the House must hear and consider any impeachment complaint, even if it involves his own father.
On Thursday, two impeachment complaints were submitted to the Office of the Secretary General but were not received by its staff, as its head, Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, was on official business in Taiwan.
A first complaint was filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus and was endorsed by Pusong Pinoy party-list Rep. Jernie Jett Nisay. That complaint is now at the Office of the Speaker.
Not a clerical transaction
House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao Del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong defended the decision of the Office of the Secretary General not to receive the complaint in the absence of Garafil, noting that the action is required by House Rules and long-standing parliamentary practice.
“The receipt of an impeachment complaint is not a casual or clerical transaction. It is a formal constitutional act that must strictly comply with House rules. It cannot be improvised, delegated casually, or reduced to a mere drop-off,” Adiong said.
Adiong added that acceptance of such a complaint is not just a ministerial act, as the secretary-general is required to determine whether the complaint is complete and whether it complies with constitutional and rules-based requirements on form, including verification, endorsements, and accompanying documents.
“This is not a mechanical function that can be exercised without authority or accountability,” Adiong said.
He said that in the absence of the secretary-general or any other acting official, her office cannot validly accept an impeachment complaint, as doing so would raise serious questions regarding the integrity, completeness, and official acknowledgment of the filing.
Insult to Filipino people
However, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte said that the House's refusal to accept the third complaint is a "blatant insult to the Constitution and to the Filipino people."
"We know that official complaints can be received by any authorized personnel inside the Office of the Secretary General. This is not rocket science, and this is not the first time. If they want to accept the complaint, they would; if they don't, they will find excuses, and that's exactly what is happening here," Duterte said.
He further said that this is not just about procedure, but rather it is about cowardice and political protection.
"The House leadership is choosing to act as the president’s shield instead of performing its constitutional duty," Duterte said.
Meanwhile, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco reiterated that he was the first one to mention Former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co to call on the government to bring him home to face charges in the country.
This is after the Philippine Accreditation for National Accountability (PANA) group, led by former representative Michael Defensor, said during a press briefing on Friday that Co was willing to testify in the impeachment trial against Marcos.
"I was the first to mention the name of Zaldy Co, I was the first to say that he is at the center of this biggest corruption in the history of the Philippines, I was the first to say that he could not have done this without the knowledge of former speaker Martin Romualdez, I was the first to say that the government must do everything to bring him back, I hope they can bring him back at the soonest possible time," Tiangco told The Manila Times in a text message.