Sara impeach bid faces INC, Marcos roadblocks

Sara impeach bid faces INC, Marcos roadblocks | Daily Tribune

Veteran lawmaker and longtime Duterte ally, Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, has expressed hope his colleagues in the House of Representatives will heed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s advice ahead of the looming protest by the influential Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) against efforts to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.

The INC, a powerful religious sect with millions of followers nationwide, has announced plans to hold a nationwide rally in support of President Marcos’ call for members of Congress to refrain from initiating the impeachment of the Vice.

The group announced earlier this week in a broadcast that they supported Marcos’ position, stressing that there are more urgent national issues that need to be addressed than the impeachment of Duterte.

“The Iglesia ni Cristo is for peace. We don’t want any kind of turmoil coming from any side. As early as now, locales of the Iglesia have organized big gatherings. This is to show our support for President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s ‘no to impeachment’ opinion,” said the program host on an INC-owned television station, reading from the statement of the religious group.

The INC’s influence in Philippine politics spans several decades, with its leaders strategically positioning the church as a significant political force.

The Marcos-Duterte tandem won a landslide victory in the May 2022 elections with some backing from the INC.

Despite his fractured alliance with Duterte, Marcos has urged his allies in the House — dominated by the Vice President’s critics — not to pursue impeachment complaints against her. He described the effort as a “waste of time,” stressing that they would “not improve a single Filipino life.”

Marcos said that it would only tie down the House and the Senate “for nothing.”

Marcoleta, one of the few allies of Vice President Duterte in the lower chamber, thanked the President for declaring his opposition although “he cannot direct the House of Representatives.”

“He can’t order us, he will bypass [Congress]. But the President is completely airing his opinion. I hope my colleagues can hear that,” he said in an interview posted on his Facebook page.

“Perhaps what [he said] is not that much. It’s not that I underestimate our compatriots, but it didn’t come from just a carpenter, most especially not from a ‘sabungero’ (cockfight aficionado) but from someone who happens to be the highest leader of our country,” Marcoleta said in a separate interview.

The seasoned lawmaker deemed the impeachment complaints “useless,” that would only consume a lot of time that could be better utilized to craft and pass pending bills.

Respect begets respect

On Friday, Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña, the endorser of the first impeachment complaint, said that he respected the INC’s position in the same way that it should also honor the clamor of various sectors, including other religious groups that lobbied for the petition.

In two days, Duterte was slapped with two impeachment complaints filed by a coalition of various organizations and endorsed by minority lawmakers, including Cendaña and Representatives France Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Raoul Manuel of the Makabayan bloc.

The Makabayan bloc announced that it had launched a signature drive to muster the required number of one-third of — or equivalent to 106 — House members to expedite the impeachment proceedings and lead to its eventual transmittal to the Senate.

A third complaint?

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said he had not yet transmitted the two petitions to the Speaker’s office, citing reports that some congressmen plan to file an additional impeachment complaint next week.

“There are congressmen who have told me they are thinking of filing or endorsing [another impeachment complaint]. So we are on hold. We are waiting maybe [on] Monday. So we respect their decision,” Velasco told reporters on Thursday.

Previously, administration lawmakers expressed doubt about the impeachment complaints’ chances of success, citing time constraints due to the upcoming mid-term elections.

House leaders also contended that although impeachment proceedings against Duterte are not part of the chamber’s agenda, they asserted that Congress is “duty bound” to act on complaints lodged by ordinary Filipino citizens regardless of possible challenges and limitations, including Marcos’s marching orders.

Duterte is under scrutiny over allegations of irregularities in her use of P650 million in confidential funds, which were reportedly supported by fictitious acknowledgment receipts.

The complainants in the impeachment petitions are seeking the indictment of the Vice President on charges of graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution and other high crimes — which are grounds for impeachment.

Not enough session days

The Constitution mandates that the House secretary general refer the impeachment complaint to the House Speaker. Within 10 session days from receipt, the complaint must be included in the order of business.

Afterward, the complaint must be referred within three session days to the House Committee on Justice, which will assess if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.

Within 60 session days, the panel shall submit its report to the plenary. The House then has 10 session days to calendar it for resolution.

However, based on the House calendar, Congress will have only nine session days when it reconvenes on 13 January next year after a month-long holiday break. By 7 February, Congress will adjourn again for the election campaign.

After the May 2025 polls, sessions will resume from 2 to 13 June, one month thereafter a new batch of lawmakers will be sworn in.

Nonetheless, the House could expedite the impeachment process by garnering at least a one-third vote in favor of the resolution.

This represents the support of 106 members of the House. Once approved, the resolution will be forwarded to the Senate for trial.