The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has announced plans to file a second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, while the Palace has denied any involvement in the motion.
Bayan stated that the motion for the new complaint would be supported by 50 representatives from various organizations within its network.
Bayan president Renato Reyes will be the lead complainant in the impeachment case, which will cite one of the six grounds for impeachment: betrayal of public trust. This is related to the alleged misuse of Vice President Duterte’s confidential funds, which are currently under investigation by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Former Bayan Muna representative and lawyer Neri Colmenares will also be involved, alongside endorsers of the complaint, including Makabayan lawmakers: ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel. The lawmakers criticized the Palace’s decision to urge Congress not to pursue an impeachment complaint.
On Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin clarified that the Office of the President had no involvement in the petitions against Vice President Duterte. In fact, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has advised his colleagues to refrain from filing such a complaint.
“The impeachment complaint filed in the House by several private citizens is clearly the complainants’ independent initiative, and its endorsement [is] the prerogative of any member of the House,” he said.
“The Office of the President has nothing to do with it,” Bersamin added.
President Marcos, meanwhile, urged members of both the House and Senate to focus on other pressing issues.
“What will happen if somebody files an impeachment? It will tie down the House; it will tie down the Senate. It will just take up all our time and for what? For nothing,” the President told reporters on Friday last week.
Bersamin further rejected any claims that the impeachment complaints were politically motivated or instigated by the administration.
“Any suggestion that that is politically motivated or instigated by our side—no, that is never true,” he said.
