Impeachment complaint vs. Marcos not good for PH economy —Palace

Malacañang said Tuesday that the impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is not good for the economy, noting that it is actually an obstacle for the Chief Executive. 

This was Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro's response as she was asked to comment on Davao City first district Representative Paolo Duterte's claim that the impeachment complaint is meant to "divert attention" from unresolved corruption issues.

''Kung 'yan ang nasa isip niya wala po tayong magagawa pero hindi po natin alam kung ano ang intensyon ng mga taong nagsampa ng impeachment complaint, at the same time, ang pagsasampa ng impeachment complaint ay sagabal din sa Pangulo kaya wag niyang isipin na parang mahina 'yung kaso or what,'' Castro said in an interview on Unang Balita. 

(If that's what's on his mind, we can't do anything about it, but we don't know the intention of those who filed the complaint, and at the same time, the filing of an impeachment complaint against the President, is actually an obstacle, so he should not think of it as weak.) 

''Hindi ito maganda sa paningin ng tao, hindi maganda sa paningin ng ibang mga foreign countries so di rin ito maaaring maganda sa paningin para sa ekonomiya, so huwag niyang maliitin ang impeachment complaint,'' she added.

(This is not good in the eyes of the public or even for foreign countries, so this is also not good for the economy, so he should not belittle this impeachment complaint.)

Drama?

On Monday, Duterte described the impeachment complaint filed against Marcos as mere "drama."

"Mga impeachment cases na ganito ay walang ibang purpose kundi ang idepensa ang isang impeachable official laban sa mga totoong impeachment cases… Kung seryoso kayo sa corruption, doon kayo sa may ebidensya. Pero kung drama lang ang hanap, sige — impeachment ang props," Duterte said on his Facebook account.

(Impeachment cases like this have no other purpose than to defend an impeachable official against "real" impeachment cases... If you are serious about corruption, do it with evidence. But if you are just looking for drama, then go ahead—use impeachment as a prop.)

In a later press briefing, Castro also deemed as "fake news" the claim of the lawmaker that the lawyer who filed the impeachment complaint against the President was the same person who supposedly represented First Lady Louise ''Liza'' Araneta-Marcos in a disbarment case against former Biliran Representative Glenn Chong.

''Kung ang sinasabi niya ay ang nagsampa raw ng kaso ay abogado na nag-represent kay Unang Ginang or First Lady Liza Marcos, iyan po ay walang katotohanan. So, sana po ay matapos na ang pagiging source of fake news ng mga kaalyado nila dahil ang First Lady po ay hindi po nagsasampa ng disbarment case, hindi po niya abogado ang nasabing nagsampa ng impeachment complaint sa Pangulo,'' she said.

(If what he is saying is that the one who filed the case is a lawyer who represented First Lady Liza Marcos, that is not true. So, I hope their allies will stop being a source of fake news because the First Lady has not filed a disbarment case, the one who filed the impeachment complaint against the President is not her lawyer.)

''At kung nagsampa man siya ng disbarment case, ito ay on his own volition, so hindi po niya niri-represent ang Unang Ginang. So, that’s fake news,'' Castro added.

(And if he filed a disbarment case, it was on his own volition, so he is not representing the First Lady. So, that's fake news.)

Grounds

An impeachment complaint against Marcos was filed before the House of Representatives and was endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Party-list Representative Jett Nisay.

The grounds cited by complainant Andre de Jesus were graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust.

Malacañang had said it recognizes that the filing of complaints is part of the democratic process provided for under our Constitution. 

''We respect this process and trust that Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, will discharge its duties with honesty, integrity, and fidelity to the rule of law,'' the Presidential Communications Office said in an earlier statement.

''The President fully upholds the Constitution and remains confident in the strength of our democratic institutions,'' the PCO added. —Anna Felicia Bajo/ VAL, GMA Integrated News