MANILA – The planned impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in relation to the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte is baseless, Malacañang said.
According to Presidential Communications Office’s Undersecretary Claire Castro, the arrest of Duterte based on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (CC) for alleged crimes against humanity, was valid.
However, Castro said it is the right of former National Youth Commission chairperson Ronald Cardema and his wife, Marie Cardema, to file an impeachment complaint against Marcos.
“Karapatan po nila kung nais nila magsampa,” Castro said in a media briefing at the Malacañang Palace on Friday. But she added: “Ang complaint ay walang pinaghuhugutan.”
The Cardemas on Thursday said they were planning to file an impeachment complaint against Marcos over the arrest and detention of Duterte at The Hague in Netherlands.
They said the Office of the House Secretary General Reginald Velasco did not receive their impeachment complaint even if it was supposedly a verified one as it had been endorsed by Duterte Youth party-list lawmaker Ducielle Cardema.
On Tuesday, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio accused President Marcos of committing an impeachable offense for allegedly allowing the arrest of her father and his eventual transfer to the ICC detention facility in The Hague.
According to the Vice President, the Chief Executive violated the Constitution and betrayed public trust by allowing “foreign jurisdiction” to meddle in Philippine sovereignty./PN
