Jamaine Punzalan

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. Mark Balmores, PPA Pool/File

Article (news)

MARCOS

Vivienne Gulla

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176904959625920250814-marcos-judiciary-fiscal-autonomy-PPA-8.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace in Manila on August 14, 2025. Mark Balmores, PPA Pool/File </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Two groups on Thursday attempted to separately file the second and third impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accusing him of benefiting from bogus flood control projects.</p><p>Former congressmen Michael Defensor and Jacinto Paras, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, and Manuelito delos Reyes Luna accused the President of alleged cuplable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes. </p><p>Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson was present during the attempted filing at the House of Representatives. Defensor said three congressmen agreed to endorse their complaint, but refused to name them.</p><p>However, the complaint hit a snag as House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil was not physically present to receive it.</p><p>A press release issued Thursday morning said Garafil would receive the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon to be conferred by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei on Friday. Garafil was a former Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairperson and Resident Representative.</p><p>Defensor said this was a “violation of both the Rules of the House and the 1987 Philippine Constitution”.</p><p>“The Rules of the House explicitly provide a ministerial duty for the Office of the Secretary General to receive and record impeachment complaints that are duly filed. There is no discretion given to the Secretary General to reject, screen, delay or block such filings,” the joint statement read by Defensor stated.</p><p>“By refusing to accept the complaint, the Office effectively usurps the constitutional authority of the House itself and denies the Filipino people their only lawful mechanism to raise grievances against a sitting President,” it added.</p><p>Defensor said he would no longer return to the House to file the complaint, but he was considering other legal options, including going to the Supreme Court.</p><p>“We have other legal options. If we go to the Supreme Court, that is one legal option. Pero para pumunta pa ako rito at makisali pa ako sa moro-moro, hindi na. Bakit ko pa gagawin ‘yun,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>MAKABAYAN-BACKED COMPLAINT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Earlier in the day, members of progressive and civil society groups went to the Office of the House Secretary General to file the second impeachment complaint that accused Marcos sof betrayal of public trust. It was endorsed by congressmen from the Makabayan bloc.</p><p>Complainants Atty. Neri Colmenares and Teddy Casiño said they were informed by the Executive Director of the House Secretary General’s Office that he had no authority to receive the complaint.</p><p>Complainants and endorsers of the second impeachment complaint asserted the House Rules only state that “a verified complaint for impeachment… shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary General” and did not explicitly mention that it should be received by the Secretary General herself.</p><p>They left a copy of the complaint in Garafil’s office, stressing that as far as they were concerned, it was considered “filed”. </p><p>“Nakakadismaya na ayaw tanggapin ng Executive Director ng Secretary General’s office ‘yung complaint… Ang sabi namin, under the rules, ang complaint ay dapat fina-file sa Office of the Secretary General at hindi nagre-require ng presence ng Secretary General mismo para ito ay simpleng, in a ministerial manner, tanggapin ng kanyang opisina,” Casiño said.</p><p>“Hindi namin kasalanan kung absent ang inyong Secretary General. Under the Constitution, under the Rules, it is enough that we submit to your office. At we expect that on Monday this will be transmitted to the Office of the Speaker, and the Speaker will transmit it to the Committee on Rules para mailagay na ho sa order of business,” he added.</p><p>“Para sa amin, that impeachment complaint is deemed filed… Kami ang sumunod sa Rules of the House, at kung hindi susundin ng House ang sarili nilang Rules, hindi dapat burden yan sa mga impeachment complainant,” Colmenares said. </p><div><iframe width="1201" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1CpQd259z4w" title="Makabayan files impeachment complaint vs Marcos for betrayal of public trust | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Complainants and endorsers of the second impeachment complaint also went to the Office of House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III to call on him to ensure that their complaint would be included in the lower chamber’s order of business.</p><p>Complainant Liza Maza said if the second complaint would be blocked, it could be an indication that there was an intent to proceed only with the first impeachment complaint against Marcos, which she described as “weak”.</p><p>“Kung talagang marami pa silang gagawin para ma-block ito… ang intensyon nila ay ipagproceed lang doon sa  weak impeachment complaint laban kay BBM,” she said.</p><p>On Tuesday, the first verified impeachment complaint against the President filed on Monday by lawyer Andre de Jesus and endorsed by Pusong Pinoy party-list Rep. Jett Nisay was formally transmitted to the Office of the House Speaker. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/20/first-impeachment-case-vs-marcos-dead-on-arrival-in-house-says-lawmaker-1124">First impeachment complaint vs Marcos &#x27;unlikely to move forward&#x27; in House, says lawmaker</a></div><p>House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong expects the said complaint to be referred to the House Committee on Justice when Congress resumes session on Monday. Once referred to the Justice Committee, it will be “deemed initiated”, triggering the one-year ban on filing fresh impeachment complaints against the President.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/palace-congtractor-behind-endorsement-of-impeachment-complaint-vs-marcos-jr-1659">Palace: Contractor behind endorsement of impeachment complaint vs Marcos Jr.</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>MARCOS &#x27;CONFIDENT&#x27;</strong></div><div><strong>  </strong></div><p>Marcos has consistently noted that he was the one who put the issue of ghost projects center stage and pushed investigations that have seen scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers implicated.</p><p>The President remained confident that he did not commit any impeachable offense, Malacanang said.   </p><p>Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said complainants “have to prove” their accusation that Marcos packed the national budget with projects aimed at redirecting funds to allies. </p><p>She noted that the President had vetoed several items in the national budget and ordered a “conditional implementation”.</p><p>“Iyong sinasabi ninyong pork barrel, mapapatunayan po natin sa mga ginawa ng Pangulo na pinag-ingatan, uulitin po natin, pinag-ingatan, po ng Pangulo ang budget,” Castro argued. </p><p>“Marami po ang mga nasaktan dahil hindi naibigay ang kanilang mga budget na hinihiling dahil pinag-ingatan po at mayroon po tayong tinatawag na ‘for later release.’ At iyong mga ‘for later release’ na iyon karamihan po doon ay hindi na-release dahil kulang po sila sa mga requirements,” she added. </p><p>“So, ganito lamang po ang kanilang mga magiging akusasyon, muli, malakas po ang loob ng ating Pangulo na wala po siyang nalabag na anumang batas at hindi po siya gumawa nang anumang impeachable offense,” Castro said.   </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SECOND IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The second impeachment complaint against the President cited three articles of impeachment, including the allegation that Marcos “institutionalized systemic corruption and patronage”. It claimed that the so-called “Baselined-Balanced-Managed or the BBM Parametric Formula” supposedly entrenched a pork barrel system of allocations and created a policy that allegedly subordinated technical necessity and community needs to political patronage. </p><p>This, complainants said, resulted in the “massive misallocation of funds” and laid the basis for alleged kickbacks and “commitments” for favored officials.</p><p>The second article accused the President of abusing discretionary power over unprogrammed appropriations (UA). The complaint said that by allowing the UA and authorizing its release, the President allegedly “circumvented Congressional oversight” and made the UA an alleged “vehicle for plunder”.</p><p>The third article, meanwhile, alleged that the President had “direct personal involvement in budgetary insertions and kickback schemes”. The complaint cited previous claims by former House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Zaldy Co in a video posted on social media, that Marcos supposedly “personally directed” the insertion of P100 billion in the 2025 budget for alleged anomalous projects.</p><p>The list of documentary evidence they submitted included the sworn affidavits of former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, the so-called Cabral files, and transcript of Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Hearings.</p><p>“The Filipino people deserve a President who serves the Constitution, not one who subverts it. They deserve a President, who protects public funds, not one who plunders them. They deserve a President who upholds the public trust, not one who betrays it,” the complainants said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/14/can-congress-tackle-possible-twin-impeachment-of-marcos-duterte-lawyers-weigh-in-1327">Can Congress tackle the possible impeachment of Marcos and Duterte? Lawyers weigh in</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;SLIM CHANCE&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Under the Philippine Constitution, any citizen can file an impeachment complaint provided it is endorsed by one of the more than 300 members of Congress.</p><p>Dennis Coronacion, chair of the political science department at Manila&#x27;s University of Santo Tomas, told AFP on Thursday the new complaint was unlikely to go far in a Congress packed with Marcos allies.</p><p>&quot;This ... has a very slim chance of getting the approval of the House Committee on Justice and (even less) so, in the plenary, because the president still enjoys the support of the members of the House of Representatives,&quot; Coronacion said.</p><p>In 2024, a trio of complaints was filed against Vice President Sara Duterte. The cases ultimately led to her impeachment early last year by the House of Representatives and an abortive Senate trial that saw the senior body send the case back.</p><p>The country&#x27;s Supreme Court later tossed the case, ruling it violated a constitutional provision against multiple impeachment proceedings within a single year.<br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/16/-we-re-not-going-for-it-nup-s-puno-says-impeachment-effort-vs-marcos-won-t-prosper-1609">&#x27;We&#x27;re not going for it&#x27;: NUP&#x27;s Puno says impeachment effort vs Marcos won&#x27;t prosper</a></p><div><iframe width="1200" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gTJu61iDzBA" title="&#x27;Walang ginawang mali&#x27;: Palace says Marcos unbothered by impeachment complaint | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <iframe width="1201" height="675" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jy-noarb8YA" title="Impeachment complaint filed vs Marcos | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Two groups on Thursday attempted to separately file the second and third impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accusing him of benefiting from bogus flood control projects.</p>

Two groups on Thursday attempted to separately file the second and third impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accusing him of benefiting from bogus flood control projects.

Two more impeachment complaints vs Marcos hit snag

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Two more impeachment complaints vs Marcos hit snag

Vivienne Gulla,

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 22, 2026 11:18 AM PHT

|

Updated Jan 22, 2026 04:09 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

impeachment

Marcos

Bongbong Marcos

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