President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated on Thursday that he has no involvement in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a Palace press briefing, Marcos pointed out that the impeachment complaints were not filed by his allies in the House of Representatives, emphasizing that they heeded his request not to proceed with any impeachment case.
However, with the complaints already filed, the House and the Senate have no choice but to proceed, noting that their hands are now tied.
"No, the Executive cannot have a hand in the impeachment. Walang role ang Executive sa impeachment," Marcos responded when asked if he has a hand in the impeachment.
"Did we discuss it with the Speaker? Did we discuss it with the other congressmen? Of course. Tinatanong [ko], anong plano ninyo? Ano ba talagang gusto ninyong gawin?" he added.
He further emphasized that the House was simply fulfilling its constitutional mandate by proceeding with the impeachment complaints.
Meanwhile, Marcos does not see the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President as an act of defiance against him.
Previously, President Marcos verbally expressed his opposition to filing any impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte.
He further explained that an impeachment process would ultimately "tie down" the House of Representatives and the Senate, consuming all their time with no productive outcome.
Despite some lawmakers filing the impeachment complaint, Marcos still does not see it as an act of defiance, stating that they are simply acting according to their beliefs on what should be done.
"That's not defiance. Ganyan ang kanilang paniniwala. Sa kanilang paniniwala, kailangang-kailangang gawin ito," said Marcos.
"I don't view that as a defiance. I view that as they are expressing what they feel to be right," he added.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved the impeachment complaints with the support of 215 lawmakers, exceeding the required 102 votes to forward the case to the Senate.
From there, the Senate will hold a trial to determine if Duterte should be removed from office.
Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero stated that no legal impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte will take place during the lower chamber's session break.
