Leaves door open to possible reconciliation with Duterte

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. left the door open to a possible reconciliation with Vice President Sara Duterte as he confirmed sending a private message to lawmakers in the House of Representatives urging them not to file an impeachment case against her.

In a chance interview with reporters on Friday, Mr. Marcos said pursuing an impeachment proceeding is the least of his priorities as there are other more important concerns that warrant the attention of legislators.

“What will happen if somebody files an impeachment? It will tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate. It will just take up all our time and for what? For nothing, for nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino life,” he said.

The commander-in-chief described the ongoing tension between him and his running mate in the 2022 polls as a “storm in a teacup”—an idiomatic expression for great outrage or excitement about a trivial matter.

Duterte earlier she and the President already reached a “point of no return.”

President Marcos, however, held a different view.

“Never say never,” he said.

Mr. Marcos said his text message to House members was “private communication, but it was leaked.”

“That’s really my opinion,” he said.

The text message reportedly read: “In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints.”

Duterte – who earlier said she already contacted someone to kill Mr. Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez should something happen to her, has yet to make a comment as of press time.

At the House, senior leaders reiterated the impeachment of the Vice President is not on their agenda, but they are “duty-bound” to act should a complaint be filed.

In a joint statement, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, and House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said: “As we have repeatedly pointed out in media interviews, impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte are not on our agenda.”

“However, we also recognize that the House of Representatives has a constitutional duty to act on impeachment complaints filed by ordinary citizens against impeachable officials. This is not just the responsibility of the institution, but also the individual duty of each congressman to uphold the Constitution. Should an impeachment complaint be properly filed in accordance with the rules, the House is obligated to deliberate on it fairly and transparently, ensuring that the process adheres to the highest standards of justice.”

Under the Constitution, any citizen may file an impeachment complaint against any impeachable official. However, the petition has to be endorsed by at least one House member for it to be acted upon.

Gonzales, Suarez and Dalipe also said the House is committed “to upholding transparency and accountability, the primary focus of the House committees concerned is on uncovering the truth behind the use of confidential funds and addressing any alleged irregularities linked to questionable businesses.”

“Our institution is duty-bound to serve as a check and balance while safeguarding public trust. The Filipino people deserve answers regarding these serious matters, and we aim to fulfill this responsibility without political distractions or divisiveness.”

The House committee on good government and public accountability is investigating the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.

The Makabayan Bloc confirmed it will file in December a “strong” impeachment complaint against Duterte for betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes such as plunder.

“The complaint is already being prepared, and Bayan is the one on top of it. There are so many signatories to the complaint, not just Bayan, multi-sectoral. I guess we can finish and file it before the year ends,” ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said in a radio interview.

“These public funds were entrusted to her but these were misused,” she added.

Senate President Francis Escudero, for his part, declined to make any comment.

“I won’t comment on anything that has to do with ‘impeachment’ given that we in the Senate are tasked to hear all impeachment cases. I likewise call on and urge my colleagues to do the same,” Escudero said.

Earlier in the day, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he supports the call of the President against the filing of an impeachment case against Duterte.

“I agree that we should not proceed with the impeachment. There are many pressing issues in our country that need to be addressed, not only by the two highest officials but also by us lawmakers,” Estrada said.