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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 2nd impeachment complaint vs Marcos submitted, but House refuses to receive it

2nd impeachment complaint vs Marcos submitted, but House refuses to receive it

Published Jan 22, 2026 01:05 pm

At A Glance

  • A group led by former militant congressmen submitted on Thursday morning, Jan. 22 a verified impeachment complaint against President Marcos to the Office of the Secretary General at the House of Representatives.
The second impeachment complaint against President Marcos gets notarized at the House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The second impeachment complaint against President Marcos gets notarized at the House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


A group led by former militant congressmen submitted on Thursday morning, Jan. 22 a verified impeachment complaint against President Marcos to the Office of the Secretary General at the House of Representatives.
However, the 37-page complaint technically wasn't received by personnel inside the office, as they cited the absence of House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil.
This didn't stop the complainants from branding the document as duly "filed" via substitute servce, since they followed the House rules on impeachment filing.
"Para amin (For us), that impeachment complaint is deemed files. Why? Because we delivered it to the Office of the Secretary General," former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said in an impromptu press conference after they served the complaint.
"Hindi namin kasalanan kung absent ang inyong Secretary General (It is not our fault that your Secretary General is absent). Under the Constitution, under the rules, it is enough that we submit to your office," another ex-Bayan Muna congressman in Teddy Casiño.
It was reported earlier Thursday morning that Garafil had a scheduled engagement in Taiwan on Friday morning.
There were 36 listed complainants in the impeachment rap--the second to reach the secretary general's office this week.
Last Monday--and with Garafil present--lawyer Andre de Jesus filed the first ever impeachment complaint against President Marcos. 
3 articles of impeachment 
Endorsing the second complaint were Makabayan bloc members ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co.
The three articles of impeachment against Marcos that were mentioned in the Makabayan-backed complaint were 1.) Institutionalizing Systemic Corruption and Patronage, 2.) Abuse of Discretionary Power over Unprogrammed Appropriations, and 3.) Direct Personal Involvement in Kickback Schemes.
A video shared by Makabayan to House reporters showed what happened inside the Garafil's office when the complainants tried to file the impeachment rap. Tinio was seen handing the document to Executive Director Jose Marmoi Salonga, who politely refused as he " had no authority" to receive it.
When Tinio tried to have the complaint marked received by the clerk, he wasn't entertained. After this, the complainants and endorsers simply decided to leave the document on a desk.
Garafil is the highest-ranked civilian official in the House. One of her tasks is to receive a verified and duly-endorsed impeachment complaint and transmit it immediately to the Office of the Speaker.
Blocking tactics?
Asked if the non-receipt was the House's way of "blocking" their attempt to impeach Marcos, complainant and former Gabriela congresswoman Liza Maza said in the same presser that this appeared to be the case.
It was reported Wednesday that Garafil already submitted the De Jesus complaint to the office of Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III. From there, Dy has 10 session days to transmit the complaint to the plenary via the Committee on Rules.
The rules panel would then have three session days to refer the matter to the Committee on Justice, and effectively "initiating" the impeachment process against Marcos. Only one impeachment complaint can be tackled by the justice committee agaisnt the same impeachable officer in one year.
Since the earliest that Garafil can receive additional complaints is during the resumption of plenary sessions on Monday, Jan. 26, Tinio acknowledged the possibility that their complaint could get left out due to the one-year bar rule.
This was consistent with the allegation that the De Jesus complaint--supposedly a weak one--was "staged" to protect Marcos from stronger allegations.
Tinio said they will inform Dy's office regarding the non-receipt of their complaint.
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