Only a miracle could reverse Marcos impeach dismissal at plenary

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February 9, 2026 | 12:49pm

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment complaints against President Bongbong Marcos are now headed for plenary action after the House justice committee recommended ending the proceedings.

During a hearing on Monday, February 9, the committee approved a resolution dismissing the two complaints for being insufficient in substance, with 39 voting in favor of the decision and four against. 

Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list), who concurred with the decision only for the first complaint filed by lawyer Andre de Jesus, manifested her dissent over the dismissal of the Makabayan-endorsed complaint. 

She said that while she agreed that the De Jesus complaint was insufficient in substance, the second complaint filed by 36 petitioners presented enough factual allegations to warrant an investigation into Marcos’ possible involvement in manipulating the national budget and enforcing the kickback schemes.

“So for me, the majority has prematurely dismissed the Masa et al. complaint at this stage of the proceedings, which is supposedly just the determination of substance of the complaints,” De Lima added. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Edgar Erice (Caloocan, 3rd District) completely voted against the resolution’s approval, saying the justice committee had “misapplied” its own rules and conducted a “mini trial” when it dismissed the complaints. 

“Evidence was weighed, credibility was assessed, factual disputes were resolved — all before the hearing,” he added.

Describing the committee’s actions as a “textbook grave abuse of discretion,” Erice said the matter could be brought before the Supreme Court, potentially triggering another judicial review of the impeachment proceedings.

Rep. Renee Co (Kabataan Party-list) also objected to the committee report’s approval, explaining that it does not properly put into record the arguments raised by members who found the second complaint sufficient in substance. 

Last week, the justice panel rejected the first complaint 42-1-3 for being insufficient in substance and dismissed the second complaint in a 39-7 vote.

What the complaints alleged 

The first complaint charged Marcos with constitutional violations related to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest, betrayal of public trust in authorizing the unprogrammed funds, and graft and corruption. 

It also accused the president of no longer being fit to serve due to alleged drug addiction. 

Meanwhile, the Makabayan-backed complaint, citing betrayal of public trust, alleged that Marcos institutionalized corruption through the parametric formula for district allocables, discretionary spending on unprogrammed appropriations, and gains from budget insertions and kickbacks.

No more investigation

The justice committee’s review of the complaints’ sufficiency in form and substance was only the first stage of proceedings. Had the complaints passed this stage, they would have moved to a full investigation of the factual allegations. 

In the second stage, Marcos would have responded to the claims, witnesses could have been heard, and additional evidence would have been reviewed to determine whether the allegations had merit.

However, even lawmakers had different interpretations on what constituted a "recital of facts," thereby leading to the committee's decision.

The only way the complainants could advance the impeachment proceedings against the president is by securing a one-third vote of all House members to overturn the resolution. 

However, even complainants view this as nothing short of a miracle, considering the strong support Marcos continues to enjoy from the lower chamber.