President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. supports holding public officials accountable but has no position on a possible new impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, Malacañang said Tuesday, December 16, as opposition lawmakers floated fresh impeachment moves.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said impeachment is not a priority for the President, who remains focused on governance.
“Sa ngayon, hindi pa po nagiging isyu sa Pangulo ang impeachment laban po sa Bise Presidente,” Castro said during a Palace press briefing.
She reiterated Marcos’ long-standing stance that no public official is above the law.
“Kung dapat managot ay dapat panagutin; wala dapat sinisino,” she said.
The Palace remarks followed statements by Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila de Lima, who said plunder and graft complaints filed against Duterte before the Office of the Ombudsman could form the basis of a new impeachment case once the Constitution’s one-year bar expires in February.
De Lima said the complaints, filed by civil society groups, allege acts that overlap with constitutional grounds for impeachment, including plunder, bribery, graft and corruption, malversation, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution.
“These are not mere fishing expeditions,” De Lima said, citing what she described as voluminous evidence.
She noted that while a previous impeachment complaint was archived after the Supreme Court ruled it violated the one-year bar, the matter remains unresolved due to pending appeals.
“If and when the one-year bar expires, nothing will prevent the filing of another impeachment complaint,” De Lima said.