Marcos impeachment: First complaint declared insufficient in substance
MANILA, Philippines — The first impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been declared insufficient in substance by the House justice committee.
During the panel’s Wednesday hearing, 42 members voted to dismiss the complaint filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus and endorsed by Pusong Pinoy party-list Rep. Jernie Jett Nisay, as several lawmakers said the charges were based on speculation.
Only one lawmaker — Nisay — found the complaint sufficient in substance. The three Makabayan bloc members abstained from voting.
Voting on the sufficiency of the first impeachment complaint was scheduled for Tuesday, but committee chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro gave members an extra day to reflect on the discussions before deliberation.
Flaws
On Tuesday morning, several lawmakers assailed the first complaint against Marcos, citing “defects” in the document, as de Jesus seeks to remove the President over alleged drug use and corruption.
They noted that the accusations relied heavily on media reports and “hearsay,” making the complaint “insufficient in substance” upon preliminary evaluation.
Allegations of illegal drug use were the second ground for impeachment cited in the de Jesus complaint.
READ: Panel members: 1st Marcos impeach rap ‘hearsay’
Committee members also questioned de Jesus for filing an impeachment complaint over Marcos allegedly creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to shield corrupt allies from investigations.
Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice said that while he believes the ICI has failed due to the resignation of its key members, its creation cannot be considered an impeachable offense.
Erice added that the allegations against the ICI are mere speculation, not established facts that could constitute impeachable offenses.
READ: ICI is a failure, but not an impeachable offense by Marcos – Erice
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said he believes the ICI should have been given more powers, but that does not make its creation an impeachable offense.
“Although the ICI should have been given more powers to investigate and subpoena, which did not happen, I am not sure what kind of lawyer this Atty. Andre De Jesus is, but it’s a shame that ICI members skilled at investigating are now being accused of wrongdoing and betraying the public,” he said.
On January 19, de Jesus filed the first-ever impeachment complaint against Marcos. Aside from the two grounds criticized by lawmakers, the 14-page complaint cited four other grounds:
- Allegedly ordering and enabling the kidnapping and surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court
- Alleged failure to veto unprogrammed appropriations and other unconstitutional provisions of the General Appropriations Bill for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026
- Allegedly benefitting from kickbacks arising from budget insertions and ghost flood control projects
- Allegedly violating the Constitution and betraying public trust for surrendering Duterte to the ICC
READ: Marcos faces impeachment over ‘Duterte kidnapping,’ flood control mess
However, soon after the complaints were filed, several lawmakers, including Erice, claimed that the first impeachment complaint is weak and could be easily dismissed.
READ: Several solons doubt impeachment complaint vs Marcos will prosper
The concerns prompted the Makabayan Coalition to file its complaint, which focused on the existence of the “BBM Parametric Formula” — a Department of Public Works and Highways policy that stands for “Baselined-Balanced-Managed.”
The said formula also makes use of the president’s initials when using his nickname, Bongbong.
READ: Makabayan impeach bid centers on ‘BBM Parametric Formula’
According to Makabayan, the BBM Parametric Formula “provided the justification for Presidential and Congressional infrastructure project allocations in the national budget,” which was supposedly the “basis for kickbacks or commitments.” /mcm
