Marcos officially secures 1-year protection from impeachment

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially earned one-year immunity from impeachment proceedings following the failure of the first major effort to remove him from office.

The House of Representatives approved on Tuesday, February 10, the House justice committee report that junked the two impeachment complaints against him.

“These complaints fail to establish a factual nexus between the President and any impeachable offense. They attempt to reframe mere policy disagreements and routine executive functions as a betrayal of public trust without any showing of bad faith or malice,” said the report, read by committee chairperson Gerville “Jinky” Luistro said.

A total of 284 lawmakers voted in favor of the panel’s findings, while eight opposed the report. Four others abstained from the vote.

Had one-third of all members voted against the complaint, the committee decision would have been reversed.

The Constitution says an impeachable official like the President can only undergo one impeachment proceeding per year. It means any critic of the President cannot file another impeachment complaint against him until January 2027.

Last week, the justice committee declared the two complaints referred to it insufficient in substance.

The two petitions — endorsed separately by Pusong Pinoy Representative Jett Nisay and the three-member Makabayan bloc — both cited the President’s alleged roles in flood control corruption and the overall budget mess.

The latter complaint, though was more specific — it alleged that Marcos institutionalized systemic corruption through the so-called “BBM parametric formula” that became the basis of congressional allocations on public works, abuse of discretionary power over unprogrammed appropriations, and his direct personal involvement in kickbacks.

Allies of the President insisted that Marcos was not the brains behind the controversial formula, and added that former congressman Zaldy Co’s statements linking him to the kickback scheme were not made under oath.

“If the allegations were baseless, the President would have had every opportunity to respond, rebut, and dismantle them on record,” ML Representative Leila de Lima said. “If there’s nothing to hide, there’s nothing to worry about. You will face the questions. You won’t hide behind technicalities.”

The Nisay-endorsed complaint also faulted Marcos for the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, an argument that lawmakers did not take seriously.

After the dismissal of the complaints against Marcos, the House justice committee is now set to dedicate its resources hearing the impeachment petitions filed against Vice President Sara Duterte. – Rappler.com