Impeachment complaint against President Marcos Jr. faces doubts
DAVAO City — Vice President Sara Duterte expressed doubts on Saturday that the House of Representatives would treat the impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. the same way they handled the complaint against her. She believes the lower chamber will not seriously act on the complaint.
In an ambush interview in Digos City, Duterte revealed she was unaware that former National Youth Commission chair Ronald Cardema and his wife, Marie, planned to file an impeachment complaint against President Marcos. The complaint concerns the arrest and detention of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
She also said she has yet to read the Articles of Impeachment filed against the President.
The Cardema couple attempted to file the complaint but failed because the Office of the House Secretary General, led by Reginald Velasco, was closed on Thursday, May 8.
House allies expected to block impeachment complaint
Despite the filing attempt, Vice President Duterte does not expect the House to take the impeachment complaint seriously. “Well, we don’t expect that the House of Representatives will take it seriously because most of the members of the House of Representatives are allies of the President,” she said.
She added, “An impeachment is a political exercise. It’s a game of numbers. So, I don’t expect anything to happen to that impeachment complaint.”
Duterte was herself impeached by the House on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers supporting the complaint. She faced charges including betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
Filing issues and background of the complaint
The Cardema couple claimed that the impeachment complaint against Marcos, supposedly endorsed by Duterte Youth party-list lawmaker Ducielle Cardema, was not received by the Office of the House Secretary General. Ducielle is Ronald Cardema’s sister and also serves as Duterte Youth’s representative.
Velasco explained that their office was closed on May 8 due to a strategic planning seminar attended by all staff. He said they would resume operations on May 13.
Ronald Cardema explained that the Articles of Impeachment focus on culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. Specifically, they accuse President Marcos of “handing over a Filipino citizen to foreigners.”
Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and government stance
Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in the Philippines on March 11 by local authorities, following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is currently detained at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague. The charges against him involve crimes against humanity related to extrajudicial killings during his administration’s war on drugs.
Malacañang has maintained that Duterte’s arrest was legal and dismissed criticisms against the government’s role as baseless.