'No choice': Sandro Marcos to follow process with dad's impeachment complaint, says solon
At A Glance
- Bukidnon 2nd district Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores expects House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos to follow the constitutional process when it comes to the impeachment complaint filed against the latter's father, President Marcos.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (left), Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (MANILA BULLETIN)
Bukidnon 2nd district Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores expects House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos to follow the constitutional process when it comes to the impeachment complaint filed against the latter's father, President Marcos.
To the outsider, Rep. Marcos appears to be in a peculiar position as he will hold in his hands the future of the filed impeachment complaint in his capacity as Committee on Rules chairman.
But Flores, in a press conference Monday afternoon, Jan. 19 says that the presidential son will know exactly what to do.
"In this particular case I think there is no choice for him because it really says that it has to be referred to the Committee on Justice," the lawyer-solon said in a press conference.
"So even if he is the majority leader and even if the impeachable officer that is complained of is his father, wala siyang magawa (he can't do anything)," Flores said of Rep. Marcos.
"Because and, procedure talaga (the procedure really) is after it is included in the order of business, in three days it has to be referred to the Committee on Justice," noted Flores, a vice chairman of the committee.
What's the process?
In the House of Representatives, the majority leader concurrently holds the position of chairman of the powerful Committee on Rules. The rules panel basically calls the shots on what happens in plenary.
As per existing rules, the House secretary general receives the verified and duly-endorsed impeachment complaint. It will be immediately transmitted to the Office of the House Speaker.
The Speaker will then have 10 session days to transmit the impeachment complaint to the plenary, through the rules panel. From there, the rules panel has three days to refer the matter to the justice committee.
Once it has the complaint, the Committee on Justice has 60 days to determine whether or not it is sufficient in both form and substance.