(UPDATE) TWO more impeachment cases were filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the House of Representatives on Thursday, but the Office of the Secretary General refused to accept the complaints.
The earlier complaint was filed by militant groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairman Renato Reyes, former Bayan Muna representatives Teodoro Casino and Neri Colmenares, former Gabriela Party-list representative Liza Maza and former ACT Teachers Party-list representative France Castro.
It was endorsed by the Makabayan Bloc, led by current ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co.
However, the complaint was not received at the Office of the Secretary General as its chief, Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, was out of the country to receive an award from the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Under House rules, any impeachment complaint should be submitted first to the secretary-general’s office before it can be transmitted to the Office of the Speaker.
“What we did is we left a copy in the office, and as far as the complainants are concerned, we have complied with the rules that we filed the complaint at the Office of the Secretary General,” Casino said.
He added that they expect the complaint to be transmitted to the Office of the Speaker, which would then transmit the complaint to the Rules Committee to be included in the Order of Business.
Tinio urged House Speaker Faustino Dy III to accept their articles of impeachment to be included in the Order of Business next week once the lower chamber resumes its session on Monday, Jan. 26.
Reyes said that they are willing to return on Monday to formalize the complaint.
In their complaint, the group accused Marcos of betrayal of public trust for failing to veto the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget, as well as the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2022-2025 budgets which were used in anomalous flood control projects.
“Related to the betrayal of public trust charges are the issues of institutionalization of pork barrel or allocables under the ‘baseline balanced managed parametric formula’ that was the basis of dividing infrastructure funds that were given to lawmakers and Malacañang officials,” Reyes said.
Later in the day, a group led by former representative Michael Defensor and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson attempted to file a third impeachment complaint against Marcos, but they were also not accommodated at the Office of the Secretary General.
Aside from Defensor and Singson, the other complainants were former Presidential Anti-Corruption commissioner Manuelito Luna, former representative Jacinto Paras, blogger Cathy Binag, Reina Mercedes, Isabela Vice Mayor Harold Respicio, and lawyers Virgilio Garcia and Ferdinand Topacio.
Their complaint accused Marcos of culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.
In a statement read during their press briefing after the filing, Defensor said the refusal of the Office of the Secretary General of the House of Representatives to accept the impeachment complaint “is a clear violation of both the Rules of the House and the 1987 Philippine Constitution.” He also said that there is no discretion given to the secretary-general to reject, screen, delay or block such filings.
“By refusing to accept the complaint, the office effectively usurps the constitutional authority of the House itself and denies the Filipino people their only lawful mechanism to raise grievances against a sitting president,” Defensor said.
In a subsequent interview, Defensor said that they would explore possible options including a possible run at the Supreme Court after they were not able to file the complaint against Marcos.
“As a private citizen, we can go to the Supreme Court and complain. It is a legal option, we will talk to the lawyers,” Defensor said.
Luna said that they did not reveal their complaint endorsers for fear of reprisal.
They also said that they are not aligned with the Duterte family even though some of them, including Topacio, are aligned with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, the party of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The two complaints follow the complaint filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus against Marcos, which was endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Party-list Rep. Jernie Jett Nisay.
That complaint has been transferred to the Office of the Speaker, said Garafil.
In a separate statement, House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong said that the impeachment complaints filed against Marcos are being handled in accordance with the Constitution and long-standing House Rules.
In the face of the complaints, President Marcos remained confident that he did not commit any impeachable offense, Malacañang said. In a press conference, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro insisted that Marcos has acted in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
“First of all, if they say something is abusive, it really needs to be proven. If they cannot provide any evidence in their complaint, they are merely creating a story,” Castro said.
“If they claim kickbacks, it still needs to be proven. It cannot be based on someone’s imagination. So they will really have a hard time proving it because our President has not committed any violations,” she added.
The Palace official also said that Marcos handled the 2025 national budget carefully and vetoed several items despite objections from those who proposed them.