House of Representatives dismisses impeachment complaints vs. Marcos

The House of Representatives has dismissed the two impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. due to insufficiency of substance.

Voting 284-8-4, the lower chamber adopted House Resolution 746 and the findings of Committee Report 111, which dismissed the complaints filed by Andre de Jesus and the Makabayan bloc.

"The impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. are hereby dismissed," House Deputy Speaker Janette Garin said during the plenary session.

The House Justice Committee sponsored the committee report before the plenary on Tuesday, a day after it approved the same as the complaints were deemed insufficient in substance.

In her speech, House justice committee chairperson Gerville Luistro said the complaints failed to meet the requirement of "substance" and alleged ultimate facts, or the essential facts constituting the cause of action.

"Complaints that are fundamentally insufficient in substance must be dismissed, not indulged for the sake of political theater," said Luistro.

"In this Hall, the interest of the Filipino people must always come first. To do otherwise is to degrade impeachment from a constitutional safeguard into a weapon of harassment. While our rules state that substance is met by a 'recital of facts' and jurisdictional requirements, huwag nating kalimutan (let us not forget): impeachment is a sui generis proceeding. It is a class of its own," she said.

Luistro added, "our decision reflects the Committee’s faithful adherence to the strict standards of the 1987 Constitution. It is a definitive declaration that in this Hall, the Rule of Law prevails over the Rule of Rhetoric."

Marcos 'happy'

Asked for a reaction, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the President is happy with the dismissal of the impeachment complaints. 

Marcos is glad that majority of the members of the lower chamber of Congress believed the truth and decided to junk the impeachment complaints lodged against him, Castro said.

''Nasisiyahan po ang Pangulo sa naganap na proseso sa House of Representatives. Natutuwa po ang Pangulo na 284 na miyembro ng House of Representatives ang naniniwala sa katotohanan at nagpasyang ibasura ang impeachment complaints laban sa kanya,'' Castro said.

(The President is happy with the process of the House of Representatives. He is happy that 284 members of the House of Representatives believed the truth and decided to dismiss the impeachment complaints against him.) 

''Sa ngayon, ang nais ng Pangulo ay sumulong at magtuloy-tuloy sa trabaho. Nakatuon siya sa pagsasagawa ng mga programang pang ekonomiya na mag-aangat sa buhay ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino,'' she added. 

(He wants to move on and continue with his job.He is focused on pushing for economic measures that will improve the lives of every Filipino family.)

Duterte allies inhibit

Shortly before the voting, four allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the House of Representatives said they would inhibit themselves from participating in the impeachment proceedings against Marcos. 

Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte, Davao City 2nd District Representative Omar Duterte, Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab, and PPP Party-list Representative Harold James Duterte signed a letter wherein they argued that the impeachment process "no longer reflects a genuine and honest pursuit of truth and accountability."

The four congressmen stated that they have chosen "not to participate in, nor to cast a vote" in the impeachment process "not out of indifference, but out of conviction."

"We cannot in good conscience lend our names, our voices, and our mandate to a process that no longer reflects a genuine and honest pursuit of truth and accountability," the letter read.

"To take part under these circumstances would be to betray the very principles that brought us to public service," it added.

They alleged that the impeachment proceedings have been "overshadowed by the overwhelming weight of administration influence," saying the outcome was predetermined even before any vote was taken and shaped more by political considerations than independent judgment.

They also said current controversies confronting the administration, including issues related to the flood control scandal, "demand far more than a mere display of process" and participating in the impeachment proceedings would only "cloak them in false legitimacy it does not deserve."

"From the very beginning, we therefore resolved to stand apart. Our decision to withhold our participation and our vote is an act of principle, not an act of retreat," the lawmakers said.

"We refuse to be used as props in a production that pretends to seek justice while ensuring that those who must answer are never truly held to account," they added.

The four lawmakers said they remain committed to accountability, institutional integrity, and to a justice system where truth is "genuinely heard." – NB/ VDV/RF, GMA Integrated News