Marcos impeachment complaint: House justice panel ready to receive it —Luistro

The House Justice committee has no official information yet about the impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. but is ready to receive it, its chairperson said Monday.

"If this is official already, as soon as it is included in the Order of Business and soon enough will be referred in the Justice Committee, rest assured that the Justice Committee is ready to receive the impeachment complaint," Batangas Representative Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro said in an ambush interview.

The impeachment complaint was filed by lawyer Andre De Jesus and endorsed by House Deputy Minority Leader and Pusong Pinoy Party-list Representative Jernie Jett Nisay.

"It is filed by a private individual, sponsored by a House member, which therefore calls for the referral by the plenary to the Justice Committee for there to have a process of initiation," Luistro explained.

According to the Rules on Impeachment, "A verified complaint for impeachment by a Member of the House or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof shall be filed with the office of the Secretary General and immediately referred to the Speaker."

Furthermore, "The Speaker shall have it included in the Order of Business within ten (10) session days from receipt. It shall then be referred to the Committee on Justice within three (3) session days thereafter."

"We will be acting on the impeachment complaint in our capacity as the chair as soon as it is referred to us by the plenary," Luistro said.

The House Committee on Justice must determine if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.

"Pag sinabi natin 'sufficiency in form,' ito yung dapat verified tapos sponsored by a House member, things like that. Pag sinabi naman natin 'in substance' eh di supported yung grounds for impeachment as provided under the rules. There's sufficient evidence that support the grounds for impeachment," Luistro said.

(When we say 'sufficiency in form,' it means it must be verified and then sponsored by a House member, things like that. When we say 'in substance,' the grounds for impeachment must be supporterd as provided under the rules.)

When asked if the president himself or his legal counsel is required to attend the Justice Committee hearings, Luistro replied, "As far as I can recall, they have the discretion to attend or not to attend as part of the requirement of due process."

Complainant ready to face Justice panel

Lawyer Andre de Jesus, who filed the impeachment complaint, said he is ready to face the House Committee on Justice to substantiate his claims against the president.

"I would welcome that because that would give me an opportunity," de Jesus said in a phone interview.

"Give us an avenue to which we could present all these things where the president will no longer hide behind the shield of presidential immunity from suit and all processes that he's shielded from precisely because he's president. Now, if they say, do I have the evidence? Give me the forum. Give me the time. Give me the date. I'm going to be there," he added.

When asked if de Jesus had ties with the president, he replied, "No, I have no links with the president himself. I have never met either the president or the first lady. That's the thing. There's that accusation that this is intended to trigger the one-year ban, right?"

The one-year ban referred to by de Jesus is found in the Rules on Impeachment, which states that, "No impeachment proceeding shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one (1) year."

"Everything I've said so far is pretty damaging against them," de Jesus said.

The grounds mentioned by de Jesus in his complaint are culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

"Actually, it's not just what the president did but actually all the cases when the president did not do," de Jesus added.

De Jesus also denied links with the Duterte camp. When asked why he chose Pusong Pinoy Party-list Representative Jernie Jett Nisay as endorser of his complaint, de Jesus said they are both Bosconians and that he had known Nisay since the legislator was a councilor. — BM, GMA Integrated News