House Justice Panel Dismisses Impeachment Complaints vs. Marcos

The House Committee on Justice has dismissed two impeachment complaints filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after ruling that both cases lacked sufficient substance to proceed.

The decision, reached on Wednesday, February 4, stops the impeachment effort at the committee level. Unless reversed by at least one-third of the House plenary, the dismissal activates the constitutional one-year bar, preventing another impeachment complaint against the President within the same period.

The two petitions were separately endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Rep. Jett Nisay and the Makabayan bloc. Both cited issues related to flood control projects and the national budget. One complaint alleged that Marcos institutionalized systemic corruption through the so-called “BBM parametric formula,” misuse of unprogrammed appropriations, and alleged kickbacks.

“In the first place, it was not the President who created the BBM parametric formula of the DPWH. Having an imperfect policy direction is not an impeachable offense,” said committee vice chair and San Juan Representative Bel Zamora.

“Accusations are not factual allegations. A lot of what is written are mere speculations or conjectures arising from hearsay, and worse, even double hearsay testimonies, just to connect the President to the charges,” she added.

Some lawmakers, however, disagreed with the outcome. Leila de Lima of ML said the complaints should have been allowed to move forward to the next stage.

“I believe there are factual allegations that would constitute impeachable offense. Per the rules, we should be focusing on that. Let the respondent raise those defenses in the proper time — the answer or rejoinder,” De Lima said.

Voting showed strong backing for dismissal. Thirty-nine lawmakers voted to junk the second complaint, while seven supported it. The first complaint, which faulted Marcos over the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was also dismissed after 42 lawmakers voted for its rejection.

The committee emphasized that the proceedings were still preliminary, focused only on determining sufficiency in form and substance. Had the complaints passed, the President would have been required to respond formally, followed by the filing of affidavits and counter-affidavits before actual hearings.

The panel has 60 days from the referral of the complaints to submit its findings and recommendations to the House plenary.