House SecGen office refuses to accept 2nd impeachment complaint vs Marcos

The Office of the House Secretary General refused to accept Thursday the second impeachment complaint to be filed against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

The complainants led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan expressed dismay to this development.

Bayan chairperson Teddy Casiño said they were told that House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil is in Taiwan to receive an award and that no one else is authorized to receive the complaint.

Former Bayan Muna representative Atty Neri Colmenares said they left a copy of the complaint with the Office of the Secretary General and they deemed it filed already in compliance with the Constitution and the Rules on Impeachment.

The group also plans to inform House Speaker Faustino Dy III of this development and wants an assurance that their complaint will be referred to the House committee on justice.

Impeachment complaint

Bayan said it is filing the impeachment complaint on the grounds of betrayal of public trust. It also accused Marcos of committing three impeachable acts including the adoption of the Baselined-Balanced-Managed (BBM) Parametric Formula in allocating infrastructure projects that allegedly led to "ghost", substandard, and overpriced flood management projects.

Marcos was likewise accused of "abusing" his authority to use unprogrammed appropriations, and benefitting from the kickback scheme in the flood control mess.

"In that basis at kasama ang mga ebidensya at testimonya, nag-file kami ng impeachment complaint dahil sa tingin namin sa panawagan na dapat managot, dapat ito ay magsimula sa tuktok," Casiño said in an interview with Balitanghali.

(On that basis, including pieces of evidence and testimonies, we filed an impeachment complaint because we think that calls for accountability for public officials should start on the top.)

Meanwhile, Casiño raised concerns that their complaint may be deemed invalid once the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus on January 19 will be referred to the House committee on justice and trigger the one year ban.

"Ang pangamba namin baka sa Lunes, pumatak na ang one-year prohibition kasi possible at the earliest, ito ay irefer na agad sa [House] Committee on Justice. Kung ganun ang mangyayari, lalabas mahina ang complaint na nirefer sa committee," he added.

(Our worry is that the one year ban will start on Monday once the January 19 impeachment complaint will be referred with the House justice committee. If that happens, the impeachment complaint against Marcos Jr. will be weak.)

Article IX Section 3(5) of the 1987 Constitution states that no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.

In July 2025, the Supreme Court (SC) declared the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional, citing the one-year prohibition.

Casino, meanwhile, said Bayan will refile its impeachment complaint against Duterte after the expiry of the one-year ban.

"Ang aming panawagan, ang Presidente at Bise Presidente ang dapat umalis sa pwesto dahil sila ang dahilan ng political crisis na ito at mas mabuting palitan na lang sila para maka-move on na ang ating bayan," he said.

(Our call is for the President and Vice President to step down because they caused this political crisis. It would be best if they will be replaced so that our nation can move forward.)

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, 2025, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint.

In August last year, the Senate voted to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment against the Vice President, following the SC decision declaring her impeachment unconstitutional.

A new complaint may be filed against Duterte in February once the one-year ban expires.—AOL, GMA Integrated News