Impeachment complaints won't stop Marcos from doing work — Palace

Malacañang on Tuesday said work continues for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. even after two verified impeachment complaints have been filed against him in the House of Representatives.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the impeachment complaints would not affect Marcos from carrying out his presidential duties.

"Itong mga impeachment complaints na naisampa sa Pangulo ay hindi mapapahinto at mapapatigil ang Pangulo sa patuloy niyang pagtatrabaho para iangat ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino," Castro said in a Palace briefing.

(The impeachment complaints will not stop the President from working to uplift the lives of Filipinos.)

"Kung kinakailangan na dapat magbigay ng dokumento, ang Pangulo ay gumagalang sa proseso," she added.

(If documents need to be submitted, the President will respect that.)

On Monday evening, the House of Representatives referred the two impeachment complaints against the President to the House Committee on Justice, kicking in the constitutional ban on future impeachment complaints against the President until January 26, 2027.

The two impeachment bids against the President are the following:

• complaint filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus and endorsed by Pusong Pinoy party-list Representative Jett Nisay alleging that the President should be impeached due to betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, for 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, among others.
• complaint filed by the Makabayan coalition endorsed by party-list opposition lawmakers Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, Sarah Elago of Gabriela, and Renee Co of Kabataan party-list, alleging that the President betrayed public trust over 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, among others

"Ginagalang ng Pangulo kung ano man ang activities, ginagawa at mga decisions ng House of Representatives. Hayaan natin ang proseso na umandar nang naayon sa batas," said Castro.

(The President respects the activities, actions, and decisions of the House of Representatives. We should allow the process to continue in accordance with the law.)

Meanwhile, Castro said Marcos never interfered with the decision of his son, House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Representative Sandro Marcos, who voluntarily inhibited from the committee deliberations on the impeachment complaints against the President.

"Bilang public servant, alam ni Cong. Marcos kung ano ang sinasabi ng batas at kung ano ang dapat niyang gawin," she added.

(As a public servant, Cong. Marcos is familiar with the law and what he should do.)

De facto martial law?

In the same briefing, Malacañang shrugged off claims from Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste that the Philippines is under a "de facto martial law" as critics of the administration were allegedly silenced.

"Not all wrong opinions deserve a response from the Palace," said Castro.

Castro, however, said the government is not silencing its critics.

"Kung lumalabag po sa batas ang sinumang nagsasalita o gumagawa ng aksyon, nararapat lamang na sila ay makasuhan dahil may batas na umiiral sa atin," she added.

(If they violated the law, whoever said or did the actions should face proper cases.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News