Makabayan admits slim chance to reverse Marcos impeachment ruling

There is a slim chance that the House of Representatives, sitting in plenary, will reverse the ruling of the House committee on justice dismissing the two impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for insufficiency of substance.

This was admitted Thursday by the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives.

The bloc, composed of ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, endorsed the second impeachment complaint filed by Bayan and allied groups against the President.

On Wednesday, House justice committee chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro said the committee will submit its report to the plenary on Monday, 9 February, when members of the House of Representatives are expected to vote on the committee report.

A vote of at least one-third of all House members is sufficient to overturn the committee’s findings.

Tinio said the matter will be taken to the plenary for a vote, stressing that while the odds are slim, the effort is not over.

“Even though there’s a slim chance, the fight isn’t over yet because if we get a one-third vote, the committee report can be reversed,” Tinio said.

He admitted it would be difficult to overturn the ruling but said the bloc would continue explaining to the public and to fellow lawmakers why they believe the President had knowledge of alleged corruption in flood control projects.

“We expect that it will be an uphill battle in the plenary. It will be hard, it will not be easy,” Tinio said.

Nevertheless, the Makabayan bloc said efforts to exact accountability from the President and others allegedly involved in the flood control anomaly will continue.

Tinio said they would pursue accountability for Marcos both inside and outside Congress, including activities planned for 25 February, the anniversary of the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship. He said this comes as the family’s alleged ill-gotten wealth has yet to be fully recovered and amid what he described as a new corruption controversy involving President Marcos.

He added that they are hoping public calls for a hearing would grow louder, noting that alleged “big fish” involved would remain difficult to uncover without an opportunity to investigate officials in Malacañang.

Elago, meanwhile, said the bloc is studying whether to bring the matter before the Supreme Court, citing the need to carefully assess the legal landscape following the ruling on the verified impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“How do we strengthen the system of checks and balances and at the same time it will not be over-legalized or impose an overly high standard in filing an impeachment complaint,” Elago said.

Tinio said the manner in which the House justice committee handled the impeachment proceedings against President Marcos could affect the impeachment case against Vice President Duterte.

He said that if the complaint against Marcos is ultimately dismissed, the process must be credible, adding that what transpired during the hearing was unfortunate.

He claimed the dismissal was premature, arguing that the impeachment complaint endorsed by the Makabayan bloc was sufficient in substance.