(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to facilitating a dialogue between the Senate and the House of Representatives to resolve internal disagreements, but he will not intervene in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, Malacañang said.
This, after the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) raised “grave constitutional questions” on the Senate’s move to return the articles of impeachment to the House.
In a press briefing on Friday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos was willing to talk to Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez to thresh out their differences, but not when it comes to the impeachment process.
“The President is open to any dialogue to promote cooperation and the stability of democracy in the country,” Castro told reporters.
Philconsa, led by retired Chief Justice Renato Puno, argued that the Senate’s action poses “grave constitutional questions” and undermines the integrity of the impeachment process.
The group urged the Senate to uphold its constitutional duty and proceed with the trial in accordance with the rule of law.
Castro said the president respected the views of legal experts and institutions but reiterated his commitment to democratic processes.”The president respects every opinion of a person or group,” she said. “As the president said yesterday, the real enemy of freedom is indifference.”
When asked whether the president plans to meet with Escudero and Romualdez amid the institutional tensions, Castro said both leaders attended the Independence Day reception in Malacañang on Thursday.
The Palace official said that Marcos remained hopeful that, despite tensions, Congress would maintain institutional integrity.
“The president believes and trusts that any disagreements will be resolved between the two chambers,” Castro said.
While Marcos does not plan to initiate a meeting with the Senate and House leaders on the impeachment, Castro said the president was ready to engage on other legislative issues.
“It’s possible if it’s about other issues. It depends on how serious the issue becomes. … The president will assess the situation,” she said.
Also on Saturday, the opposition Liberal Party (LP) called for accountability amid the start of the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte.
“If someone stole the people’s money, they must be held accountable — in the name of the hungry, the unemployed, and those with nowhere to turn. Because a government that has been robbed is a government that cannot serve,” LP Acting President Erin Tañada said in a statement in Filipino.
Tañada added that the protest action from June 9 to 11 outside the Senate prompted the chamber to open the impeachment court and issue a summons against the vice president, but some senators tried to block the proceedings.
“Several senators nearly dragged our Constitution through the mud with their indecency. They tried to block, delay, and dismiss the impeachment through technicalities. A blatant betrayal — not just of our government institutions, but of every Filipino seeking justice and truth,” he said.
He stressed that the impeachment trial is important and is not just a mere spectacle.
“This is the people putting the corrupt on trial. And while there is evidence linking Vice President Duterte to corruption, bribery, misappropriation of wealth, and violations of the Constitution, we have the right to hear the truth — and it is the duty of the Senate to let that truth come out,” Tañada said. “No one has the right to suppress the people’s desire for justice and accountability.”
In a statement on Friday night, the opposition coalition Tindig Pilipinas, which led the protests outside the Senate, said they were victorious because of the power of “collective action,” but urged Filipinos to be vigilant.
“Despite all the drama, the blatant disrespect for the Constitution, and the twisting of simple logic and common sense, we achieved our goal: to convene the impeachment court. Even though they tried to delay justice, they couldn’t stop it. The trial proceeds!” Tindig Pilipinas said in Filipino.
“The Senate may have returned the articles of impeachment to the House of Representatives, yet the House did not accept it, but certified that they complied with the Constitution. Now, everyone is waiting for Sara Duterte to respond to the summons from the impeachment court,” they added.
The opposition group said the fight is still not over.
“It’s simple. There is evidence of millions of pesos that were stolen. Show it to the people. Determine if she is guilty or not. We are confident that only those who choose to be blind will not be convinced. This is what Sara and her defenders fear the most,” they said.
Tindig Pilipinas led a protest action outside the Senate from June 9 to 11, as the chamber convened as an impeachment court in the case against the vice president.
Duterte is facing four impeachment complaints for culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other “high crimes,” particularly focused on the use of confidential and intelligence funds, the alleged assassination threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez, and her involvement in the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects during the administration of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands and awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. WITH ARIC JOHN SY CUA
