Cong. Sandro Marcos has no choice but to refer the impeachment against his father, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to the Committee on Justice, said Bukidnon Second District Congressman Jonathan Keith Flores, currently chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs and vice chairman of the Committee on Justice.
This was Flores’ statement as he answered queries in light of the filing of the first impeachment complaint against Mr. Marcos on Monday.
Cong. Marcos, the president’s son, is chair of the House Committee on Rules.
When asked whether there is a possibility that Marcos might have a conflict of interest since the complaint is against his father, Cong. Flores said, “Well, in this particular case, I think there is no choice for him.”
He explained that under the rules, the complaint must be referred to the Committee on Justice, adding, “So even if he is the majority leader and even if the impeachable officer that this complaint is against is his father, wala siyang magagawa because ang procedure talaga is that after it is included in the order of business, then in three days it has to be referred to the Committee on Justice.”
Flores said that, based on his understanding and Supreme Court decisions, the impeachment proceedings start from the time the complaint is referred to the justice committee.
Once the complaint is received by the Speaker, it has 10 session days to be included in the order of business.
Flores explained that after the complaint is received, it is to be submitted to the Office of the Speaker and included in the calendar of business. That is when the plenary will decide to refer it to the Committee on Justice for action.
This means that even as the president’s son, Sandro Marcos cannot block the impeachment complaint against his father from reaching the justice committee.
According to Cong. Flores, the majority leader “has no choice” but to let the impeachment complaint against his father be referred to the justice committee.
“So even if he is the majority leader, and even if the impeachable officer that is complained of is his father, wala siyang magagawa,” Flores said.
He also noted that the House rules for handling impeachment complaints are “clear-cut.” Once included in the Order of Business, the complaint must be referred to the Committee on Justice within three session days.
“That the majority leader is a presidential son would not have weight or matter because the rules do not give him any discretion or flexibility… This is why the Constitution and the rules provide clear deadlines,” Flores added.
