Who is Atty. Andre de Jesus?

Lawyer Andre de Jesus, who filed a verified impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., identified himself as a professor at the De La Salle University (DLSU) in his LinkedIn account. 

In the same LinkedIn account, de Jesus said he finished his Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy degree at the San Beda College in 1998. He earned his law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 2003.

Puzzling

House Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan City 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice questioned the logic of de Jesus’ actions in filing an impeachment complaint against the President.

He recalled that in November 2024, de Jesus filed a disbarment case against lawyer Glenn Chong over Chong’s remarks during a rally in March earlier that year, in which Chong allegedly threatened to slap First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

Erice said De Jesus’ impeachment effort won’t necessarily set off the one-year bar rule or the constitutional provision, which allows the initiation of one impeachment complaint against an impeachable office in a year. 

“I am still puzzled why he filed. If others will also file against the President this week, those will be consolidated. Even if the complaint is weak, there are stronger complaints, wala ring silbi (his effort would have been for nothing),” Erice told GMA News Online.

Not First Lady’s lawyer

In a statement sent to GMA Integrated News, de Jesus denied that he served as legal counsel for the First Lady in the disbarment case against Chong.

“That is simply untrue. In fact, I doubt the First Lady even knows I exist. The truth is straightforward: I cited the utterances of Atty. Glenn Chong against the First Lady because, in my view as an officer of the court, those statements violated the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability. They were presented only as incidental proof – not because I represent or defend the First Lady,” he said.

De Jesus stressed that his actions are not guided by political affiliation or partisan interest and that he not aligned with any political color.

The lawyer maintained that his sole motivation in filing the impeachment complaint is “to bring forward issues that have long been discussed in podcasts, television programs, and public forums, yet have not been acted upon through the constitutional process.”

“The complaint I filed raises grave matters of corruption, betrayal of public trust, and violations of the Constitution. These are issues of national importance that must be openly discussed, thoroughly examined, and resolved through proper proceedings,” de Jesus added.

Grounds for impeachment raps

His impeachment complaint against Marcos, endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Party-list Rep. Jett Nisay, said the President should be impeached due to betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, over the following alleged acts:

• Ordering and enabling the kidnapping and surrender of ex- President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Being a drug addict whose condition impairs his judgment and leadership.
• Failing to veto unprogrammed appropriations and other unconstitutional provisions of the national budget for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
• Benefitting from kickbacks arising from budget insertions and ghost flood control projects, and
• Creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to shield his corrupt allies.  

Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, vice chair of the House committee on justice, said it is hard to tell if de Jesus’ impeachment effort is genuinely against the President or an effort to stop others from initiating a legitimate impeachment complaint against Marcos at this point.

“I haven’t seen the complaint so I am not yet aware how it is drafted. You will have to see the copy of the complaint if it is just meant to set the one-year bar rule or for outright dismissal,” Flores said in a press conference.

“That will depend on the contents of the complaint,” he added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News