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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider All eyes on Marcos impeachment moves as House resumes plenary sessions

All eyes on Marcos impeachment moves as House resumes plenary sessions

Published Jan 25, 2026 01:39 pm

At A Glance

  • The filing of impeachment complaints against President Marcos will take centerstage during the resumption of plenary sessions in the House of Representatives Monday, Jan. 25, with all eyes locked on the Office of the Secretary General.
The House plenary (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The House plenary (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


The filing of impeachment complaints against President Marcos will take centerstage during the resumption of plenary sessions in the House of Representatives Monday, Jan. 25, with all eyes locked on the Office of the Secretary General.
Expected to return to work Monday is House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil, who was in Taiwan over the weekend for an official trip. Garafil wasn't present at the House last Thursday when two groups submitted their impeachment complaints against the Chief Executive.
One of the groups is composed of militants, while the other is composed of lawyers who have been branded as "pro-Duterte". Garafil's absence meant that their complaints couldn't be officially marked as received.
The militant group, together with their solon-endorsers from the Makabayan bloc, are set to return to the secretary general's office Monday morning.
"We hope that there would be no more excuses on the part of the House is accepting the complaint and further obstructing efforts toward accountability," the Makabayan said in its advisory on Sunday, Jan. 25.
By having their endorsed impeachment complaint received by Garafil on Monday morning, the militants are aiming to have the complaint included in the order of business in the afternoon plenary session.
It will have been the first time the congressmen convened in plenary since they went on their annual holiday break.
Former Anakbayan Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares pointed out that Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution does not explicitly require the secretary general herself to personally receive impeachment complaints.
"The word 'secretary general' was not mentioned in the Constitution. It was only the House that required the need to submit it to the Secretary General, and we followed that. What was stated was the Office of the Secretary General, so we followed that," Colmenares said, referring to the events Thursday.
Lawyer and former Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor--who led the other group of impeachment filers last Thursday--earleir said that they would think it over first if they would attempt to re-file their impeachment rap against President Marcos.
They earlier threatened to file charges agaisnt the Office of the Secretary General over the non-receipt of their complaint. They have yet to reveal who their solon-endorsers are.
De Jesus complaint
Before she left for Taiwan, Garafil was able to receive last Monday, Jan. 19 an impeachment complaint against Marcos that was filed and endorsed by lawyer Andre de Jesus and Pusong Pinoy Party-list Rep. Jett Nisay, respectively. Garafil has said that the complaint has been sent to office of House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III.
The De Jesus complaint--which had been described by administration critics as "staged"--could potentially get included in the order of business Monday, if Dy transmits it to the Committee on Rules upon the resumption of work.
As per House rules, the Speaker's office has up to 10 session days to transmit impeachment complaints to the plenary through the rules panel, which would then have three session days to refer it to the Committee on Justice.
Therein lies the rub: an impeachment complaint against President Marcos will be deemed "initiated" once it is referred to the justice panel; and since only one impeachment complaint can be initiated against a particular impeachable officer per year, the referral will cast aside all other complaints filed that weren't included in the order of business.
Secretary general's discretion
Multiple impeachment complaints may be referred, but the rules committee--chaired Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos in the current 20th Congress--must get a hold of them first from the Speaker's office.
This makes Garafil's actions on Monday all the more important, especially to the groups who yet to formally file impeachment complaints.
The justice panel--chaired by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro --is tasked to determine through public hearings whether or not an impeachment complaint is sufficient in form and in substance.
Luistro said that her panel prepared to take up any impeachment complaint that reaches the panel through proper referral from the plenary. She said the committee will exercise its constitutional mandate with both urgency and restraint.
For the lawyer-congresswoman, Garafil possesses the leeway to decide how she would handle the filed impeachment raps.
"I am inclined to believe that it falls squarely in her discretion as to how she will discharge her function and power in as far as receiving these impeachment complaints is concerned,” Luistro said.
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