Marcos ‘happy’ impeachment ‘distractions’ over

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday he was “happy” after a House committee rejected the impeachment complaints against him, which he called “distractions.”  

The committee voted overwhelmingly against both complaints, saying they lacked sufficient substance to move forward.

“I’m happy it’s done and we can get on with our work because these things are distractions,” Marcos said in a chance interview. 

One of the two complaints, endorsed by the Makabayan bloc of left-wing parties, accused Marcos of packing the national budget with projects aimed at redirecting funds to his allies.

Another focused on allegations that the arrest of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte and his transfer to the International Criminal Court constituted kidnapping.

Marcos said he "wasn’t very worried" over the complaints as "there were no real grounds" for impeachment. 

House justice panel chair: We voted 'independently' on Marcos impeachment complaints

“It was a political move as usual,” he added. 

Following the dismissal of the complaints, the House Justice panel will submit a committee report. The decision can still be reversed with one-third of the plenary votes.

“Any major decision that is to be made by either House has to have a convincing basis, especially for the public. In other words, the public has to see it as believable, so to speak. So it's now a question really of credibility,” Prof. Edmund Tayao, President of Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, told ANC’s Headstart on Friday.

Tayao noted that the sitting vice president is also a factor behind the majority of the House members’ support for Marcos. When the president is impeached, the vice president assumes the presidency. 

“Ang question ngayon, katanggap-tanggap ba ang pangalawang pangulo? Ito din ang explanation kung bakit hindi nagiging sapat ang numero sa pagtatawag ng pag-aklas sa kalye,” Tayao said.

Former congresswoman Liza Maza, who filed one of two impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said it would take a “miracle” to reverse the House panel’s decision.

“Kung real talk lang… talagang it’s a miracle… Palagay ko mabubuhay sa lansangan ‘yung protesta ng mamamayan. Kaya nga sa February, mayroon nang plano para doon sa malawak na pagkilos laban sa mga kurakot,” Maza said during a forum.

Former lawmaker France Castro also acknowledged that the chances of a reversal were slim. But she said this was possible if an incident would push congressmen to demand accountability.

“Tingin natin marami doong tawag nga nila mahal na Pangulong Marcos. So tingin natin very slim talaga ‘yung chance, unless baka mayroong isang pangyayari na talagang magtutulak doon sa mga kongresista na talagang manindigan para panagutin si President Marcos given nga ‘yung gravity nung mga evidences,” Castro said.

IMPEACH MOVES VS VP 

The committee hearing that rejected the Marcos impeachment complaints came just two days after a pair of impeachment complaints hit Vice President Sara Duterte, who is widely considered a possible presidential contender in 2028.

Marcos said he had "no reaction" to the complaints against Duterte. 

"Hindi ko trabaho ‘yan. Trabaho [‘yan] ng house. Pabayaan mo silang magtrabaho," the President said.

“I’m sure they will handle it properly. So, let’s let them do their jobs,” he added.

Both complaints accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally President Ferdinand Marcos -- charges she has denied. 

Duterte was successfully impeached by the House last year. An abortive Senate trial that followed saw the senior body kick the case back to the House while questioning its constitutionality.

The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the impeachment was a violation of a constitutional rule against multiple complaints being filed in the same year. The court upheld its ruling last week.

Tayao said the SC decision made impeachment “more of a legal proceeding than a political exercise” by compelling the House to determine the weight of the evidence of a complaint before it can be endorsed to the impeachment court in the Senate. 

“Even if you have the numbers, but you don't have the necessary weight of evidence, that will not only be convincing to the public, but will also qualify -- as far as the requirements of the Supreme Court is concerned -- medyo mahihirapan yan,” he said. 

“I always say that essentially, what the Supreme Court did was to prevent any impeachment from happening, not in this administration and not even in the next administration, unless the Supreme Court revisits this decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III maintained that the Senate “is always ready” for an impeachment trial.

"Part of our job yan eh. Kasama sa rules namin yan. Meron din kaming approved rules of impeachment dati. It's still there. It's standing. All we have to do is ratify it again. If ever we receive any articles of impeachment," he said. 

— With report from RG Cruz and Agatha Gregorio, ABS-CBN News