"[T]he President has nothing to do with it."
This was the statement of Malacañang on the first impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the impeachment rap was the initiative of the private citizens who filed the complaint at the House of Representative on Monday.
"The impeachment complaint filed in the House of Representatives by several private citizens is clearly the complainants’ independent initiative, and its endorsement the prerogative of any Member of the House of Representatives," Bersamin said.
"The Office of the President has nothing to do with it," the Palace official stressed.
Bersamin further said that "the President’s earlier statement on the matter is unambiguous."
In a separate interview on Tuesday, Bersamin maintained the President's statement that they are "not going to encourage" the move.
"The President has been very clear about his position on this. So any suggestion na political iyan (that it's political) or instigated by our side, no. That is never true," Bersamin said.
In a text message leaked on Nov. 28, Marcos asked lawmakers to refrain from filing an impeachment complaint against the Vice President, saying "this is not important."
The President confirmed that it was supposed to be a private message, but got leaked. He further said filing an impeachment rap against his former ally "does not make a difference to even one single Filipino life. So why waste time on it.”
Various civil society groups, including victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), filed an impeachment complaint against Duterte at the House of Representatives on Dec.2.