New impeachment bids fire up Marcos-Duterte feud in Philippines
The top two leaders’ relationship collapses after they ride a joint ticket to electoral success
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[MANILA] Impeachment efforts against Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his archrival, Vice-President Sara Duterte, advanced Monday (Feb 2) in a sign their feud is again set to dominate the country’s politics.
Two impeachment complaints were filed with the House of Representatives accusing Duterte, among other things, of misusing government funds. A House committee separately declared two recently filed complaints against Marcos as sufficient in form, meaning they meet a key condition needed to proceed. Both leaders deny wrongdoing.
The two top leaders’ relationship collapsed after they rode a joint ticket to success in 2022’s elections. Relations worsened last year, when Marcos allowed the International Criminal Court to take custody of Sara Duterte’s father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being prosecuted for alleged crimes during his war on drugs. He denies the charges.
Markets have not yet been affected by the rival impeachment efforts, which technically could bar either official from politics if convicted, though investors are watching developments in the young democracy, where Marcos’ father was dictator until the mid-1980s.
Marcos’ allies dominate the House, which could mean that an impeachment attempt against him may struggle. Sara Duterte, meanwhile, appears to have enough supporters in the Senate which suggests that any bid to oust her may be thwarted.
“It all depends on the sway of public support for the Dutertes being intertwined with prospects for the 2028 elections,” said Anthony Lawrence Borja, an associate professor at De La Salle University in Manila. “Given that her approval rating is still higher than Marcos Jr. and enjoys a slim majority, more legislators might be on the fence and will be swayed only by promises of protection or patronage, or the movements of public opinion.”
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“Marcos’ low approval gives his camp less room for negotiations if they try to convince fence sitters,” Borja added.
Sara Duterte is considered a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential election when Marcos is expected to step down after a single, six-year term.
The Philippines has a history of impeaching government officials, most notably former President Joseph Estrada – who stepped down in 2001 – and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona – who was removed by a Senate vote.
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But the prospect of legislators spending time and energy on the accusations doesn’t bode well for an economy which was once one of the region’s fastest: last quarter’s growth already slowed to a 14-year low, excluding the pandemic, as widespread anger over corruption in public works hurt business and consumer confidence.
The complaints against Sara Duterte were filed by groups of private individuals, including some former lawmakers. Sara Duterte was successfully impeached by the House a year ago, but efforts to bring her to trial in the Senate collapsed after the Supreme Court threw out the case on procedural grounds in July.
The first of the new complaints against Duterte accused her of misusing 612.5 million pesos (S$13.2 million) of government funds. The second cited a sworn statement from Duterte’s former aide alleging she instructed him to deliver large amounts of confidential funds to an aide. Both were made following the expiry of a 12-month moratorium on further filings against the vice-president.
The allegations against Marcos are from separate groups of private individuals, including some former officials from Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Marcos is accused of complicity in a massive corruption scheme related to pilfered funds for flood-control projects.
While found to be sufficient in form, the House committee will hold a separate vote on whether the complaints are sufficient in substance before they are endorsed to the plenary.
Any citizen can file an impeachment complaint against top government officials in the Philippines, as long as a member of the House endorses it. After consideration by a committee, the case would move to a trial in the Senate if one-third of the House members vote in favour of impeachment.
The previous impeachment of Duterte was thrown out because the multiple filings in the House violated a constitutional ban on impeaching the same official more than once in one year. The Supreme Court ruled last week that the ban lapsed Jan 14, earlier than a previous interpretation which pointed to this month.
“The Supreme Court itself stated that their ruling does not absolve VP Sara Duterte of the charges. By filing this complaint, we hope to finally get a verdict on the charges against her,” Francis Aquino Dee, one of the petitioners, said in a statement.
The new complaints were expected and are “devoid of both factual and legal basis.” said Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s lawyers.
“We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes,” he said in a statement. BLOOMBERG
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