Repeating what the Supreme Court had stated after it nullified the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, President Marcos on Friday said that the issue of her accountability as a
Repeating what the Supreme Court had stated after it nullified the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, President Marcos on Friday said that the issue of her accountability as a public official remained unresolved.
In its July 25 ruling favoring two petitions questioning the constitutionality of the articles of impeachment against Duterte, the Supreme Court said it did not absolve the Vice President of the charges against her.
“Let me clarify,” Marcos told Filipino reporters who traveled with him on his state visit to India. “The merits of the case were not examined by the Supreme Court.”
“We have to make very, very clear to everyone, that the Supreme Court decision does not have any bearing on the rightness or wrongness of the merits of the case,” he said.
“They are not saying that there was no wrongdoing. Neither are they saying that there was. All they are saying is that you did not handle it properly,” he said. “That’s why accountability doesn’t come into it.”
It was the first time the President has commented on the high court’s unanimous decision throwing out the Feb. 5 impeachment complaint transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate for trial after it was signed by 215, or more than one-third, of its members.
The court said the House violated the constitutional provision imposing a one-year bar to more than one impeachment complaint against the same official. Duterte’s right to due process also was violated, it said.
The President had said publicly that he did not support the impeachment of his former ally, whom the House accused of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes.
In Friday’s interview with reporters, Marcos said that he, as President, had no role in the impeachment process.
“I’m an impeachable officer. I cannot involve myself in any of this. So, it’s really the Supreme Court, the Senate and the House,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to archive the impeachment case against Duterte, instead of outrightly dismissing it.
So far, three motions for reconsideration (MRs) have been filed urging the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling.
