Metro Manila, Philippines – The impeachment case against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is not yet over despite the House justice committee’s dismissal of two complaints against him, the panel’s chair said, noting that the House plenary may still overturn the decision.
House Justice Committee Chairperson Gerville Luistro said their report declaring the complaints insufficient in substance has yet to be approved by at least one-third of all House members.
When asked if the impeachment effort had effectively ended during an interview on ‘The Newsmaker’ Luistro said: “I would say no.”
She explained that if one-third of House members vote to disapprove the committee report, the dismissal would be reversed.
“In that case, it will be returned to the justice committee, and we will be constrained to prepare the articles of impeachment,” she said.
Earlier this week, the House justice committee voted overwhelmingly to dismiss two impeachment complaints against Marcos for lack of sufficient substance. Luistro cautioned against predicting the outcome in plenary, saying the report has yet to be calendared for discussion.
“Anything can still happen,” she said.
Marcos welcomed the dismissal of the complaints filed against him after lawmakers ruled the cases insufficient in substance, with the Palace saying the president wants the country to move forward.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Malacañang welcomed the outcome.
“Unang-una po ay ikinatutuwa po natin na nasunod ang proseso at nagpapasalamat po tayo na nakita po ng mga mababatas kung ano po talaga ang katotohanan at doon po tayo lagi sa katotohanan,” Castro said.
[Translation: First of all, we are glad that the process was followed, and we are thankful that lawmakers saw what the truth really is — and we always stand with the truth.]
She added the president had been confident of the outcome.
“We saw that the complaints truly had no merit, and even the president himself was confident that he did not commit any impeachable offense,” Castro said.
She said Marcos is now focused on “uplifting the economy of the country,” and called on the nation to “move forward.”
