At A Glance
- Assistant Minority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong insisted that the House of Representatives would continue to follow the rulebook as far as the impeachment process was concerned.
Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Assistant Minority Leader Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong insisted that the House of Representatives would continue to follow the rulebook as far as the impeachment process was concerned.
“Impeachment is a serious constitutional mechanism. The House will continue to discharge its duties in an orderly, rules-based, and transparent manner," Adiong said in a statement on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 22.
This was just hours after militant groups attempted to file a second impeachment complaint against President Marcos before the Office of the Secretary General. However, the 37-page complaint wasn't officially received since Secretary General Cheloy Garafil wasn't around.
However, the group and their endorsers from the Makabayan bloc left a copy of the impeachment complaint inside Garafil's office.
Adiong said that Garafil was on an official, pre-scheduled engagement abroad. He said her temporary absence does not affect the constitutional handling of impeachment matters.
Adiong, a stalwart of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), says that once an impeachment complaint is filed, the House is required to act on it through established procedures, including referral to the Committee on Justice for determination of sufficiency in form and substance.
“Referral to the Committee on Justice is a standard and substantive step in the impeachment process. It initiates formal review and does not pre-judge any outcome,” he said.
The ranking solon says that constitutional provisions governing the filing and consideration of impeachment complaints apply uniformly and are intended to ensure due process and institutional stability.
So far only one verified and duly-endorsed impeachment complaint against Marcos--the one filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus last Jan. 19--has been formally recieved by the Secretary General.
Garafil is expected to report back to work on Monday, Jan. 26, when the House of Representatives resumes plenary sessions after the month-long holiday break.