Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s opposition to impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte is unchanged – a position widely echoed during a rally for peace held by an influential religious group, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
On Monday, millions of Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) members backed the president’s rejection of unseating the vice president who is facing three impeachment complaints in the House of Representatives.
Marcos previously called the impeachment attempts a waste of time that it will not benefit the lives of Filipinos.
“The president’s position on the impeachment move in the House of Representatives has not changed,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said.
‘Rally meant to support Sara’
In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, a political analyst said the INC gathering was a “show of force” for Duterte despite the denial of its members that it was an apolitical event.
“It’s seen as a show of force at the same time, flexing its muscles… I suppose that it was directed to the allies of the president and to the House of the Representatives and to the president himself,” Dennis Coronation, UST Political Science department chairperson, said.
“It’s up to the president and his allies how are they going to react to it… Are they going to be threatened?,” Coronacion added.
The rally does not mean INC support for Marcos is declining, the analyst said.
“They were trying to strike a balance kasi… sinuportahan nila pareho [because they both supported Marcos and Duterte]… So tingin ko nga [I think] they would want to show support to the vice president but then at the same time they did not want to antagonize the president,” he said.
Coronacion said “there would be a point in time when it (INC) would have to choose between two of its allies.”
Meanwhile, a former lawmaker said the rally should not influence lawmakers’ judgment on the pending impeachment complaints.
“If we truly are for peace and unity, let it be based on justice and accountability. Act on the impeachment complaints now,” Teddy Casiño, former Bayan Muna representative, said in a press statement.
Coronacion said the midterm elections may also be a factor for some lawmakers, especially when the impeachment reaches trial at the Senate.
“Iyong isipan ng mga senators especially yung mga re-electionist, wala na sa impeachment trial eh. Mawawalan sila ng focus. Naka-focus sila rather doon sa how to get re-elected sa mga kampanya,” he added.
[Translation: The minds of the senators, especially the re-electionists, are no longer on the impeachment trial. They will lose focus. Instead, they are focused on how to get re-elected during the campaigns.]
