President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. maintained that the Office of the President had no hand in the Senate’s decision to archive the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a press briefing, Marcos stressed that he could not interfere in the matter, citing the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government — and the fact that he himself is an impeachable officer.
“I’ve observed that they voted. I keep telling you, the executive has no role in this, the President has no role, I’m an impeachable officer, I cannot involve myself in any of this,” the President said.
According to Marcos, only the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court have the authority to deal directly with impeachment matters.
He also clarified that the Senate’s move to archive the impeachment trial should not be seen as a dismissal. He explained that the Supreme Court’s ruling did not question the merits of the case but only the procedure by which the House of Representatives filed the impeachment complaint.
“Let me clarify, the merits of the case were not examined by the Supreme Court. This does not decide the merits of the case, it just talked about procedure,” Marcos said.
He added, “So the procedure was faultly lacking, yun ang assessment ng Supreme Court. It has no bearing on the rightness or wrongness of the impeachment case.”
This clarification comes after former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) commissioner and 1987 Constitution framer Atty. Christian Monsod said the Senate’s decision was akin to a dismissal.