Cardemas attempt to file impeachment complaint vs Marcos

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The Cardemas are unsuccessful in filing the complaint – House Secretary General Reginald Velasco was unavailable as his office had a scheduled strategic planning session

MANILA, Philippines – Husband and wife Ronald and Marie Cardema attempted to file an impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, May 8, but were unsuccessful.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco was unavailable to personally receive the complaint. His office has a scheduled strategic planning session from May 6 to 8, according to ABS-CBN News and GMA News.

A draft complaint endorsed by Duterte Youth accused the President of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in connection with the Philippine government’s decision to turn over his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the Interpol, which had an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over crimes against humanity charges stemming from his bloody drug war.

“President Marcos Jr. ceded sovereign control over a domestic legal matter to an international body that no longer holds jurisdiction over the Philippines. This act is a blatant constitutional violation of national sovereignty,” they argued.

“President Marcos Jr.’s decisions and actions to unilaterally surrender former President Duterte to a foreign tribunal, is a betrayal of public trust. He exhibited gross inconsistency and bad faith, deceiving the Filipino people and failing to uphold his sworn duty to defend the Constitution and execute the country’s laws,” they added.

A common argument among Duterte supporters is that the former chief executive should not have been arrested because the Philippines already withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that made the Philippines a member of the ICC, in 2019.

However, the Philippine government cooperated not with the ICC but with the Interpol, of which the Philippines is a member, and to which the ICC coursed its request to arrest Duterte.

The impeachment complaint, even if successfully filed, is highly unlikely to gain traction in the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Marcos allies, led by his cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez.

House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre, a close ally of the Speaker, questioned the timing of the filing of the complaint.

“It’s suspicious that this will be filed just four days before the election,” he said.

Ronald Cardema is the former National Youth Commission chairperson and a former ally of President Marcos. Marie Cardema is a former congresswoman who represented Duterte Youth in the 18th Congress. – Rappler.com