House leaders to Imee: You cannot dictate on us

House leaders on Thursday called out Senator Imee Marcos over her suggestion that the House should replace Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez instead of pushing for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Senator Marcos made the call in light of the Senate vote to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment against Duterte. The Supreme Court earlier declared the articles of impeachment as unconstitutional. 

The House of Representatives has filed a motion of reconsideration.

“Sa mga mahal kong kongresista, may suggestion po ako. Ito ay suggestion lang naman ano, ‘wag niyong masamain. Kaysa inaatupag ninyong palitan ang pinili ng taumbayan, binoto, at minahal, bakit ‘di ninyo na lang palitan ang taong kayo naman lang ang pumili,” Marcos said. 

(To my dear congressmen, I have a suggestion. This is just a suggestion, don't take it personally. Instead of trying to remove a person whom the people chose, voted for, and loved, why don't you just replace the person you chose yourself?)

“Ayaw paawat ng iba sa kaka-flex! Ano kaya kung ang Speaker ninyo na lang ang palitan ninyo? Kaya ninyo ‘yan,” she added.

(Others keep on flexing. Why don’t you just change your Speaker? You can do it.)

To which, House Senior Deputy Speaker David Suarez responded: “This is a blatant overreach into the affairs of a co-equal chamber. Let me be clear: No senator, regardless of stature or history, has the right to dictate who should lead the House.”

“That decision [on who will serve as Speaker of the House] rests solely with the elected members of this chamber, and Speaker Romualdez continues to enjoy our overwhelming confidence,” Suarez said in a statement.

Likewise, Suarez said Romualdez acted well within the Constitution when he presided over the transmittal of Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President to ensure accountability.

“What we are seeing here [from Senator Marcos] is not a call for accountability. It’s a classic deflection from the real issues raised in the impeachment case,” Suarez said.

House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union agreed, saying that Senator Marcos’ statement is nothing but an attempt to stage a political circus.

“Strong statements may grab headlines, but they do little to uphold the dignity of our institutions. We must not allow a legitimate constitutional process like impeachment to be dragged into a political circus,” Ortega said. “The Speaker did not act alone. This was a collective institutional decision—one rooted in the Constitution. Calls for his removal overlook that fact and risk personalizing what is, at its core, a constitutional process.” 

House Deputy Majority Leader Zia Adiong of Lanao del Sur, for his part, said Senator Marcos’ tirade at Speaker Romualdez is a cheap shot.

“Her call to replace Speaker Romualdez is unwarranted, undemocratic, and unwise. This is not about Speaker Romualdez. This is about the institutional mandate of the House to initiate impeachment. Trying to pin this all on one man is a cheap political trick,” Adiong said.

Instead of attacking Romualdez, Adiong said senators should focus on their constitutional duty to try impeached officials, not run away from it.

“The Speaker does not serve at the pleasure of the Senate. He serves because the House overwhelmingly trusts him to lead us in a time of great political responsibility. Maybe the better question is: Why is the Senate avoiding accountability? Why archive a complaint when the Supreme Court hasn’t even ruled with finality yet?” Adiong said. 

“When over 200 members vote in favor of impeachment, that’s not just one man’s decision. That’s the House speaking as an institution. Calling it a political maneuver is not only unfair, but severely misleading,” Adiong added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News