Marcos on VP Sara's possible impeachment: 'Why waste time on this?'

LUCENA CITY — Despite their apparent rift, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is not supportive of any impeachment plan against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Marcos expressed belief that an impeachment plan would not benefit the lives of Filipinos.

“This is not important. This does not make any difference to even one, single Filipino life, so why waste time on this?” Marcos told reporters.

“What will happen to the-- 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, for what? For nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a storm in a tea cup,” he added.

Marcos also confirmed a text message where he was urging lawmakers not to file an impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

“Well, it was a private communication pero na-leak niya. Yes, because that’s really my opinion,” Marcos said.

The message was: “In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints.”

In a virtual press conference, House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability vice chairman Rep. Jefferson 'Jay' Khonghun reiterated that there were no talks about the possible filing of impeachment complaint against Duterte among the members of the majority bloc in the House of Representatives.

"Matagal na nating sinasabi na walang utos or hindi pinag-uusapan sa House of Representatives ang impeachment laban kay Vice President Sara Duterte. Walang utos na nanggagaling sa House leadership, at hindi ito pinag-uusapan ng mayorya," Khonghun told reporters.

(We have long been saying that there is no directive or discussion in the House of Representatives regarding the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. There is no order coming from the House leadership, and the majority is not discussing this matter.)

The lawmaker pointed out that the impeachment plans were coming from the mouth of Duterte and not from House members.

"Naririnig lang naman natin ang usapin  patungkol sa impeachment sa bibig mismo na nanggagaling kay Vice President Sara," he stressed.

(We only hear discussions about impeachment coming directly from Vice President Sara.)

While there is no talks on impeachment complaint filing among the majority bloc, Khonghun said they cannot prevent others, including House members, from filing an impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

"Pero siyempre hindi rin natin tinatanggal ang karapatan ng bawat organisasyon, ng bawat mamamayang pilipino na gustong maghain ng impeachment complaint. At hindi rin natin tinatanggalan ng karapatan ang sinoman sa Kongreso na mag-endorse nito," he said.

(But of course, we cannot deny the right of other organizations, Filipino citizens, and members of the House of Representatives to file an impeachment complaint.)

Should a complaint be filed in the House despite the pronouncement of Marcos, Khonghun said the decision of the lawmakers will be based on "conscience vote."

Earlier, several members of the House of Representatives said there was no talk yet as regards the filing of an impeachment complaint against Duterte amid her widening rift with the President and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

Romualdez was tight-lipped when asked for his comment about impeachment plans against Duterte at the sidelines of the bicameral conference committee meeting on the 2025 national budget.

To recall, it was during a virtual press conference last week when Duterte said she would have Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez killed if she herself was assassinated.

She later clarified that her “kill” remark was taken out of logical context. Her statement drew criticisms from several government officials and even legal experts.

In response to Duterte’s scathing statement, Marcos vowed to resist the "criminal attempts" that threaten his life. — RSJ/KBK, GMA Integrated News