Marcos impeachment cases undergo House substance test

MANILA, Philippines – The House justice committee resumed its proceedings on Tuesday, February 3, to determine whether the impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are sufficient in substance.

A day earlier, the panel determined that the two complaints — endorsed separately by Pusong Pinoy Representative Jett Nisay and the three-member Makabayan bloc — were sufficient in form.

The House panel chaired by Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro first tackled the motion of ML Representative Leila de Lima to exclude the authenticity of the attachments to the complaint — whether they are certified true copies — from the determination of the sufficiency in substance of the complaint.

The panel voted 24-21 against De Lima’s motion. Luistro reiterated that at that stage, the committee was “not looking into the truthfulness of the attachments yet,” as this would be done during the hearing proper.

The panel finished deliberations on the sufficiency in substance of the complaint endorsed by Nisay on Tuesday but agreed with the chair’s suggestion — based on the requests of fellow committee members — to defer voting to Wednesday afternoon, February 4, the same day the panel was to deliberate and vote on the sufficiency in substance of the complaint endorsed by the Makabayan bloc.

Luistro explained that due to the “exhaustive” discussions of the committee on the first complaint, the committee members need time to “ponder, decipher, and evaluate the comments and opinions” expressed that day. She said this will also give them an opportunity to tackle the second complaint against Marcos with a “fresh mind.”

If either complaint passes the second test, the committee will proceed with notifying Marcos about the complaint and will give him time to respond to the allegations.

Both complaints cited Marcos’ role in the public works scandal and the overall budget mess, but Nisay’s petition also wants the President removed from office for allegedly enabling the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte who was then brought to The Hague, and the President’s alleged drug addiction.

Watch the full video of the hearing here. – Rappler.com