Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Facebook)

Veteran congressman Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez believes that there's enough basis for an ethics complaint against Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez in the House of Representatives. 

This, as Rodriguez--a legal luminary in the House--opined that it was "uncalled for" to hear Alvarez appeal to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw its support from President Marcos. 

"Well, he is a friend, but if others are minded, then that can be a basis for a complaint in the ethics committee," Rodriguez said on Tuesday, April 16 of Alvarez, a former House Speaker. 

"So we will have the ethics committee decide, based on the evaluation of the matter," said the Cagayan de Oro lawmaker. 

On Sunday, April 14, during a peace rally in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Alvarez called on the AFP to turn its back on President Marcos. This, as he expressed frustration over how Marcos has handled the situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) where there is rising tension between Manila and Beijing. 

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/16/rodriguez-corrects-alvarez-says-withdrawal-of-afp-support-from-pbbm-can-t-be-peaceful 

Alvarez said that a withdrawal of support from Marcos would force the latter to step down. 

"We cannot countenance that,"  Rodriguez said. "We have a regularly elected officials of our country and the President was elected with a big majority, he has the support of our people." 

"Calling for...rebellion by the soldiers is uncalled for," he added. 

Alvarez is a close ally of administration critic and former president Rodrigo Duterte, the father of Vice President Sara Duterte. It is the younger Duterte who will succeed Marcos in case he resigns.

The last solon to be slapped with an ethics case in the 19th Congress--Negros Oriental 3rd district Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.--ended up getting expelled by his House colleagues due to disorderly conduct.