ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Political fiction': Acidre hits Imee Marcos for PBBM term extension, no-el claims

'Political fiction': Acidre hits Imee Marcos for PBBM term extension, no-el claims

Published May 22, 2026 11:56 pm

At A Glance

  • Rep. Jude Acidre has criticized Senator Imee Marcos for spreading "baseless conspiracy theories" about term extension and canceled elections, calling them "political fiction".
  • He stressed that the Senate should focus on its constitutional duty in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, not on distractions that mislead the public.
  • Acidre emphasized that the Constitution clearly limits the President to a single six-year term and warned that unfounded plots only damage institutions and divide the nation.
Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre (left), Senator Imee Marcos (PPAB, Facebook)
Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre (left), Senator Imee Marcos (PPAB, Facebook)


Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre has slammed senator-judge Imee Marcos for floating rumors on alleged moves to extend President Marcos' term and preventing the 2028 elections from taking place.
“Senator Imee should stop alarming the public with unfounded stories and political fiction. The Filipino people deserve facts, not fearmongering,” Acidre said in a statement Friday, May 22,
According to the second-term congressman, Senator Marcos would be better off focusing on her constitutional duties in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Acidre described the lady senator's claims of dubious constitutional ammendments to further the Marcos administration beyond 2028 as "baseless conspiracy theories".
“Walang saysay ang pagpapakalat ng mga imbentong conspiracy theory habang may malinaw na tungkuling konstitusyonal na dapat harapin ang Senado bilang impeachment court,” he added.
(Spreading invented conspiracy theories is pointless when the Senate has a clear constitutional duty to face as an impeachment court.)
Acidre stressed that the 1987 Constitution clearly imposes a single six-year term on the President, and any insinuation that Congress is secretly plotting to cancel elections or extend terms only serves to distract the public from more urgent national issues.
“The Constitution is very clear. President Marcos cannot run again in 2028. To keep repeating this narrative despite the absence of evidence only deepens political toxicity and confusion,” he said.
Vice President Duterte is a self-declared presidential aspirant in 2028. However, a conviction in the Senate trial would bar her from ever running again for public office.
Acidre also said the Senate should now focus on preparing for the impeachment trial instead of allowing “political drama and manufactured panic” to dominate public discourse.
“The Senate is about to sit as an impeachment court on a matter of historic national importance. This is not the time for distraction politics,” he said.
“Ang inaasahan ng taumbayan ay katotohanan, pananagutan, at maayos na paglilitis—hindi pananakot, hindi propaganda, at lalong hindi gawa-gawang kwento tungkol sa martial law o term extension,” Acidre noted.
(What the people expect is truth, accountability, and proper trial—not intimidation, not propaganda, and certainly not fabricated stories about martial law or term extension.)
Acidre likewise warned against using constitutional reform discussions as a political scare tactic.
“Constitutional reform has been debated for decades under different administrations. But inventing sinister plots without proof only damages institutions and further divides the country,” he said.
“At this crucial time, public officials should help calm the nation—not inflame it with reckless accusations,” said the Visayas lawmaker.

Related Tags

imee marcos Jude Acidre Sara Duterte IMPEACHMENT impeachment trial Senate
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.