The House Committee on Justice will invite President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to attend impeachment hearings only if the panel finds the complaints against him sufficient in form and substance.
Committee chairperson Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro said the two complaints will first be consolidated before her 38-member panel begins evaluation.
“Before we start, the complaints need to be consolidated because it is not possible for two complaints to be heard in the Justice committee. Upon referral, there will be consolidation [of the complaints] during the initial hearing next week,” she explained.
Luistro clarified that sufficiency in form requires the complaint to be signed, verified, and endorsed by a House member, while sufficiency in substance means the allegations must substantiate the grounds for impeachment.
“Since the first…the initial steps of this process will be determination of sufficiency in form and substance, [these] parts of the proceedings will be participated by committee members only. As a matter of fact, ay wala pa po tayong iimbitahan na neither complainant nor witness nor the respondent,” she said.
She added that if the complaint passes both standards, complainants, witnesses, and the respondent—the President—will be invited.
“During the hearing proper, complainants, witnesses, and respondents will be invited. What if the respondent does not show up? It is actually his prerogative whether or not to come. Because just like any other respondent, this participation [by the respondent] during the hearing is part of his or her right to due process. If he chooses not to come, that will be interpreted as a waiver of his right to be present during the hearing,” Luistro noted.
However, she stressed that if the complaints are found insufficient, the process will not move forward.
“We won’t proceed to the succeeding step if the complaint does not meet the standard of sufficiency in form and substance,” she said.
The first complaint, filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus and endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Party-list Representative Jett Nisay, accuses Marcos of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, citing alleged involvement in the surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC), failure to veto unconstitutional budget provisions, and claims of drug use impairing his leadership.
The second complaint, filed by the Makabayan coalition and endorsed by opposition party-list lawmakers Antonio Tinio, Sarah Elago, and Renee Co, alleges betrayal of public trust over the adoption of the Baselined-Balanced-Managed (BBM) Parametric Formula, which they claim led to “ghost,” substandard, and overpriced flood management projects.