Joselito Malig

Anakalusugan Party List Representative Mike Defensor  makes a manifestation during summation for the ABS-CBN franchise hearing at the House of Representatives at the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City on July 09, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Complainant and former congressman Mike Defensor has accused the President, the House Speaker, and the Office of the House Secretary General of involvement in alleged efforts to block additional impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.He issued the statement after the Office of the House Secretary General refused to accept on Thursday two fresh impeachment complaints against the President because Secretary General Cheloy Garafil was not physically present to receive it. She was abroad to receive an award.“Sabi ko... Can anyone receive? Kahit ministerial, ‘yung taong nasa harapan. They cannot. It is not only that they are not authorized. But they are rejecting our submission. Walang gustong tumanggap… The de Jesus impeachment complaint is a scam,” Defensor said.“Because of that action, in totality, hindi lang ang Speaker of the House, kundi ang Presidente mismo involved sa pag-block ng impeachment complaint na ito. Ayaw nilang pakinggan at ayaw nilang sagutin ang hinaing ng taumbayan,” he added.Defensor’s group plans to take legal action against the Office of the House Secretary General for its refusal to formally receive their complaint, which the group said is “unconstitutional”. This may include the filing a petition before the Supreme Court, as well as criminal and administrative complaints.“Bend the law na naman, kahapon lang… The SecGen is not the Office of the SecGen… The SecGen does not bring the powers of the Office of the SecGen with him or her when they go abroad. At fundamental po with any office, kapag umaalis ang hepe, may OIC… You cannot violate the Constitution and the laws, without facing the consequences,” Complainant Atty. Ferdinand Topacio said.House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice described the actions of the Office of the House Secretary General as “constitutional sabotage”.“This is about the deliberate manipulation of process to prevent the truth from coming out. Refusal to receive is not a neutral administrative act. It affects timing, docketing, and inclusion in the Order of Business, and can ultimately determine whether an impeachment complaint is ever acted upon,” he said in a statement.“If this practice is allowed now, it will be used again in the future. That is how constitutional accountability erodes,” Erice added.For ML Party List Representative Leila de Lima, the receipt of impeachment complaints is a “ministerial act that admits of no discretion”.&quot;The legitimacy of impeachment depends not only on outcomes, but on the integrity of the process by which it is conducted. Administrative inconvenience or technical excuses cannot suspend a constitutional mandate,” she said.House Committee on Justice Vice Chairperson and House Assistant Majority Leader Jonathan Keith Flores believes the House of Representatives should accept any impeachment complaint unless barred by the one-year ban to “redeem itself in the eyes of the public”.“I think we should accept any and all impeachment complaints. Para at least hindi masabi ng taumbayan na sa filing pa lang pino-protektahan na ‘yung Presidente…If the House would really like to redeem itself in the eyes of the public, then it should do so by fairly accepting any impeachment complaint that may be filed now and in the future for as long as hindi pa nag-set in yung one-year bar rule,” he said.Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos assurances neither he nor the House of Representatives will block the impeachment complaint against his father.The younger Marcos said the lower chamber is duty-bound under the Constitution to act on any impeachment complaint once formally filed with the Office of the House Secretary General.“Congress is Constitutionally bound to hear these cases for any impeachable officer, whether that is the President or not. So sa mga nagsasabi na baka haharangin niya ‘yung impeachment. I cannot do that,” he explained.“I have to perform my duty as majority leader, and perform my duty to the Constitution, and my mandate. That is to say that I cannot stop any impeachment complaint from being referred to the Committee on Justice… We have to go through the process,” Marcos added.Sought for comment on the possible case before the Supreme Court against the Office of the House Secretary General, House Committee on Justice Chairperson Gerville Luistro said the impeachment process will proceed until the high court intervenes.“For as long as the Supreme Court has no decision yet, we will continue proceeding with the impeachment process as provided under the Constitution and under the rules,” she asserted.Luistro noted the complainants in the second and third impeachment complaints against the President have the option to return to the Office of the Secretary General on Monday to refile their complaint.

Complainant and former congressman Mike Defensor has accused the President, the House Speaker, and the Office of the House Secretary General of involvement in alleged efforts to block additional impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Complainant and former congressman Mike Defensor has accused the President, the House Speaker, and the Office of the House Secretary General of involvement in alleged efforts to block additional impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

House officials accused of trying to ‘block’ impeachment complaints vs Marcos Jr.

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House officials accused of trying to ‘block’ impeachment complaints vs Marcos Jr.

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 23, 2026 07:39 PM PHT

|

Updated January 23, 2026 08:39 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

Office of the House Secretary General

impeachment

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

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