Marcos reiterates: `I had no role’ in Sara Duterte impeachment

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—PPA POOL

MANILA, Philippines —  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday reiterated his position not to make any comment on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte even as he stressed that he has no role in it.

In Part 2 of the BBM Podcast: Episode 2, which aired on Saturday, Marcos was asked for his view on the allegations that the delay in the impeachment process against Duterte is due to “personal or political interests.”

“All impeachment processes are in the legislature. It’s between Congress and the Senate,” Marcos answered in a mix of English and Filipino.

“It’s not my… I’m busy with the transport, with the rice, with all of the different things that we are doing that consume my time there,” he added.

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“I had no role in the impeachment,” the President pointed out.

When asked for a response on the comments that he has a say in the decision that Congress will make regarding the impeachment even if there is a separation of powers, Marcos simply said, “Maybe if a president chooses to do that; I choose not to.”

This is not the first time that Marcos has faced questions regarding the impeachment case of Duterte, who was his former ally.

On May 27, meanwhile, the President said that he did not want Duterte to be removed from the vice presidency.

“How many times do I have to say that? I didn’t want the impeachment. My allies didn’t file the complaint. And I could not order or tell those who filed the complaint what they should do,” Marcos previously said.

READ: President Marcos: I never wanted Sara Duterte impeached

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5 after 215 lawmakers signed an impeachment complaint against her. Some of the grounds for the said impeachment include “culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and graft and corruption.”

The Senate convened as an impeachment court last June 10, but as the trial started, Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano introduced a motion to return the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives, asserting to ensure that constitutional safeguards and issues of jurisdiction were not violated.

A total of 18 senator-judges voted in favor of the motion, leading the impeachment court to remand the articles of impeachment to the lower chamber. /mr