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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attends the Oath-Taking Ceremony of the Newly Promoted Generals and Flag Officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at the Ceremonial Hall inside Malacañan Palace on December 4, 2024. Santi San Juan, PPA pool/file



Article (news)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 


Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<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/17688789924801768878989939.jpeg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attends the Oath-Taking Ceremony of the Newly Promoted Generals and Flag Officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at the Ceremonial Hall inside Malacañan Palace on December 4, 2024. <em>Santi San Juan, PPA pool/file</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATED)</strong> — The first impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is unlikely to succeed in the House of Representatives, a lawmaker said Tuesday.</p><p>Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.</p><p>In a statement, Lanao del Sur First District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that the impeachment complaint against Marcos was &quot;<strong></strong>weak, unsupported by credible evidence, and unlikely to move forward in the House of Representatives.&quot;<strong></strong></p><p>The <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/19/marcos-impeachment-complaint-1004">complaint was filed on Monday</a> by lawyer Andre de Jesus, who accused Marcos of graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust.</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><p>Adiong, who is also chair of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, argued that the accusations against Marcos were rehashed claims that failed to produce new and verifiable evidence &quot;capable of withstanding constitutional muster.&quot;</p><p>He noted that impeachment is the &quot;most serious constitutional power lodged in Congress and should never be treated as a political weapon or publicity tool.&quot;<strong></strong></p><p>&quot;This particular complaint appears crafted more for media consumption than for serious constitutional scrutiny. The House will not treat impeachment as a mere press statement or partisan maneuver. We will demand substance, and in this instance, substance is conspicuously absent,&quot; the lawmaker said.<strong></strong></p><p>Adiong said there were<strong> &quot;</strong>no parallel House investigation, no subpoenaed documents, and no smoking-gun proof presented.&quot;</p><p>&quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/17/alleged-impeachment-complaint-vs-marcos-jr-very-vague-shapeless-adiong-1512">Vague assertions</a> and political dissatisfaction&quot; against Marcos, Adiong said, &quot;do not meet the standards set forth by the Constitution regarding impeachment cases.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The House leadership and the majority recognize this reality. This effort is unlikely to even reach the plenary for a vote on endorsement.&quot;</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>IMPEACHMENT VS. MARCOS &#x27;DEAD ON ARRIVAL&#x27;?</strong></div><p>House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice also called the impeachment complaint filed by de Jesus a “trash”, agreeing with views that it is “dead on arrival”.</p><p>“Hindi ko makita ‘yung logic dito dahil ‘yung isinampa niya na impeachment complaint ay basura. 15 pages na walang mga ebidensya kundi mga news article. At sa tingin ko ay… wala ito sa porma at walang substance’ yung kanyang finile na impeachment complaint. Kung ako ang boboto sa Committee on Justice, hindi ako magdadalawang isip na i-dismiss ito,” Erice said.</p><p>“The complaint alleges that the President enabled the kidnapping and surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court. It would require a lot of documents to link the President. So, kung wala ito, basura ito. Graft and corruption allegations involve a systematic plunder of the national budget through unprogrammed appropriations and ghost flood control projects. It specifically cites a claim of P100 billion insertions in the 2025 budget for kickbacks. Ito ‘yung sinabi ni Zaldy Co, e wala naman dito si Zaldy Co. Wala naman affidavit si Zaldy Co, so basura ito. Unfitness for office, ‘yung tungkol sa pagiging drug addict. No way naman na mapu-prove ito dahil hindi naman pwede natin pilitin si Presidente na magpa-drug test. At hindi naman pwede maging ebidensya ‘yung testimony ni kanyang kapatid. So basura ulit ito... The complaint alleges the creation of an Independent Commission for Infrastructure was weaponized… to target enemies. I don&#x27;t think that this is an impeachable offense. And… number five, failure to exercise veto power. Ito, pwede ito. Pero you have to attach a lot of documents,” he explained.</p><p>ML Party List Representative Leila de Lima also has initial observations on some grounds cited in the impeachment complaint against the President.</p><p>“‘Yung mga tungkol sa pag-allegedly enabling ‘yung arrest and then surrender, alam naman natin na mayroong warrant of arrest galing sa ICC, ‘diba? And then ‘yung sa ICI naman… it&#x27;s just speculation. ‘Yung sasabihin na, kinreate ‘yung ICI in order to shield allies,” she said.</p><p>Erice noted he is surprised by the endorser of the impeachment complaint, Pusong Pinoy Party List Representative Jernie Jett Nisay.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s identified with the Garcias who are known stalwarts of the NUP. At ‘yung NUP mismo, sinabi nila na hindi sila papayag sa mga impeachment laban sa Pangulong BBM,” Erice said.</p><p>The lawmaker noted that the first complaint will be “harmless” if other groups will also file an impeachment complaint against the President before the first complaint is referred to the House Committee on Justice. With the said referral, the complaint will be deemed “initiated”, triggering a one year ban on filing fresh impeachment complaints against the President.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NOT JUST TO TRIGGER THE 1-YEAR BAN</strong></div><p>Complainant Atty. Andre De Jesus categorically denied that the complaint he filed was meant to simply trigger the one-year ban and prevent other groups from filing a serious impeachment complaint against the President.</p><p>“I specifically, expressly, categorically, and absolutely deny that this is motivated just for the purpose of triggering a ban… These are valid, legitimate grounds that have been raised on so many occasions,” de Jesus said.</p><p>“How could I be pro-Marcos when in… May of 2022, I actually was one of the lawyers that filed a case before the Commission on Elections to have the Duterte bloc of PDP Laban declared as the legitimate PDP Laban,” he added.</p><p>De Jesus said he is unfazed by observations that the complaint he filed is “trash”, saying he has documentary evidence to support the grounds he cited.</p><p>“I have evidence, it was attached to the complaint, but it is without prejudice to further evidence that might be produced later on if, hopefully, the impeachment court, the Senate itself, sitting as an impeachment court, will permit subpoena to be issued directing the president or other parties to produce evidence to further validate or support the grounds for impeachment,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jy-noarb8YA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The first impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was "dead on arrival" in the House of Representatives, a lawmaker said Tuesday.</p>

The first impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was "dead on arrival" in the House of Representatives, a lawmaker said Tuesday.

First impeachment complaint vs Marcos 'unlikely to move forward' in House, says lawmaker

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First impeachment complaint vs Marcos 'unlikely to move forward' in House, says lawmaker

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 20, 2026 11:24 AM PHT

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Updated Jan 21, 2026 09:56 AM PHT

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Zia Alonto Adiong

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Impeachment

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