The attempt by progressive coalition Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) to file a second impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday hit a snag after House of Representatives Secretary General Cheloy Velicaria Garafil was reported to be out of the country.

Garafil is in Taipei to receive the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon, one of Taiwan’s highest civilian decorations, from its foreign ministry. She is set to receive the award in a conferment ceremony led by Foreign Minister Lin Cia-lung.

Garafil previously served as chairperson of the Manila Economic Cooperation Office (MECO), the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, where she worked to advance bilateral exchanges and cooperation before her appointment as House secretary general last year.

Due to her absence, the Office of the House Secretary General declined to receive the impeachment complaint filed by Bayan, which was expected to cite betrayal of public trust in connection with the national budget and the multibillion-peso flood control controversy.

The complaint, endorsed by members of the Makabayan bloc, alleges the systematic and large-scale plunder of public funds through presidential and congressional “allocations” for pet projects in the national budget.

Despite the setback, lawyer Neri Colmenares said they proceeded with the filing, citing House rules that require only that an impeachment complaint be filed with the Office of the Secretary General, without explicitly stating that the secretary general herself must personally receive it.

Bayan chairperson Teddy Casiño said they were informed that no other official was authorized to accept the complaint in Garafil’s absence.

Colmenares said they left a copy of the complaint with the Office of the Secretary General and consider it filed in compliance with the Constitution and impeachment rules. The group also plans to inform House Speaker Faustino Dy III and seek assurances that the complaint will be referred to the House committee on justice.