An impeachment complaint potentially anchored in the grounds of betrayal of public trust may be filed against President Marcos Jr. once Congress resumes session on 26 January, an opposition lawmaker disclosed Sunday, citing talks that purportedly rippled through the hallowed halls of the House of Representatives. 

Senior Deputy Minority Leader Edgar Erice confirmed to the Daily Tribune that a group supportive of Vice President Sara Duterte would file the impeachment case against the President, which would be jointly endorsed by some members of the majority and independent lawmakers.

The unnamed group, he said, initially reached out to him to solicit his support in endorsing the complaint, but he turned it down.

“They are pro-Sara group…They told me that there are [lawmakers] from the majority and independents who would endorse it. No one from the minority was mentioned,” he said in a message.

It’s still uncertain, however, if the so-called independent bloc is still intact or dissolved alongside the leadership change in the House in September.

To recall, the independent bloc was initially comprised of the fiercest critics of former House speaker Martin Romualdez. They are Davao Reps. Paolo Duterte, Omar Duterte, Isidro Ungab, PPP Rep. Harold Duterte, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, Bacolod Rep. Albi Benitez, and Cebu Rep. Duke Frasco.

This is not the first time that Marcos was threatened with impeachment. In May last year, Duterte Youth Partylist founder Ronald Cardema and his wife, former Rep. Marie Cardema, filed what could be the first-ever impeachment case against Marcos, accusing him of betrayal of public trust for allowing the arrest and transfer of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.

The filing, however, hit a roadblock as then Secretary General Reginald Velasco—who is mandated to receive the petition—was nowhere to be found, with his staff refusing to receive it, the couple claimed.

Meanwhile, Erice said the prospect of the new impeachment complaint meeting the threshold of three-thirds of the entire House to advance the same to the Senate for trial remains unclear, given that the president enjoys a supermajority support from the lower chamber. 

Nevertheless, he is adamant that the petitioners will anchor the impeachment complaint on the grounds of betrayal of public trust, citing Marcos’ “gross inexcusable negligence” in thoroughly vetting the three recent budgets passed under his administration, particularly the graft-ridden 2025 General Appropriations Act. 

“Because for three years, he pretty much let Congress squander his budget. He didn’t do anything, nor did his Cabinet,” Erice said in a separate radio interview. 

The minority lawmaker attributed it to the alleged connivance of Marcos allies in Congress and Cabinet members in manipulating the budgets and corruption scheme in the flood control project, which further tainted the reputation of the administration. 

Undersecretary Claire Castro, in response, confirmed that although the rumors of an impending impeachment have already reached their office, she asserted that the Palace will not give due credence to “unsubstantiated statements.”

“He respects the existing constitutional processes and believes that any actions taken by members of Congress will be driven by facts, the law, and national interest. The administration will not speculate on rumors or political maneuverings,” the Malacañang mouthpiece stated, referring to the president.

Administration lawmakers—Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong—downplayed alleged talks of Marcos impeachment, suggesting it was pure political retaliation.

They implied that any possible complaint will not prosper unless backed by “clear facts and solid proof.”

“Impeachment is not a press release. It is a constitutional process that demands proof,” Ortega stressed. “We will examine any complaint based on the Constitution and evidence—nothing more, nothing less.

Adiong chimed in, “Impeachment should never be used as a political tool. It exists for grave and provable offenses, not for creating noise... [It] is a serious constitutional process. It cannot be based on rumors, speculation, or political talk.” 

Impeach BBM, Sara

The filing of the alleged complaint against Marcos came on the heels of reports that Duterte may face a resurrected effort to remove her from office once the one-year bar on impeachment lapses on 6 February. 

The Makabayan bloc, which comprised the original petitioners of the botched impeachment complaint against the VP last year, has been vocal in reviving the petitions as early as last year.

This followed concerns that Duterte still hasn’t addressed the legality of the use of her multi-million-peso in confidential funds following the Supreme Court’s decision, unanimously striking down the impeachment complaint as “unconstitutional” for violating the one-year bar rule.

Recall that Duterte was slapped with three impeachment complaints in barely two weeks in December last year, but was only officially impeached on 5 February after 215 members of the House endorsed the fourth complaint.

The votes were more than double the required one-third threshold to bypass committee hearings, which paved the way for its direct transmittal to the Senate for trial—a shortcut route allowed by the Constitution.

The SC decision, however, argued among others, that the House trampled upon Duterte’s right to due process when it expedited the proceeding, robbing the VP of the opportunity to counter the allegations against her. 

Erice projected that the verdict is unlikely to be reversed by the high court, given its unanimous nature. He is certain, nevertheless, that a new impeachment case against Duterte is underway.

The botched effort to unseat Duterte has been widely seen as a veiled attempt to disqualify her from her alleged presidential ambitions for 2028 and has been riddled with allegations of payoffs to lawmakers who signed the complaint—claims repeatedly debunked by the House.

Rep. Duterte, on the other hand, urged his colleagues to be vigilant in supporting the looming impeachment against her sister, warning that any promised amounts allegedly in exchange for signing the new petition are intended for the public. 

“Everyone knows that in politics, there are no free signatures. So, before you sign, answer the people first—what is the price, who dictated it, and to whom are you truly loyal?” his statement reads.

In December, VP Duterte criticized the revived efforts to impeach as a “budget-driven racket,” and “bargaining chip” aimed at luring lawmakers to support the impeachment ahead of the passage of the 2026 national budget. 

Duterte had repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, insisting that her confidential fund usage was lawful and that her remarks about assassinating the First Couple and Romualdez were merely “taken out of context.”