Marcos impeachment cases undergo House substance test

The House justice committee resumes its proceedings on Tuesday, February 3, to determine whether the impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are sufficient in substance. A day earlier, the panel determined that the two complaints — endorsed separately by Pusong Pinoy Representative Jett Nisay and the three-member Makabayan bloc — were sufficient in form. Tuesday’s test will check whether the facts constituting the offenses charged in the complaints are articulated properly. If either complaint passes the second test, the committee will proceed with notifying Marcos about the complaint and will give him time to respond to the allegations. Both complaints cited Marcos’ role in the public works scandal and the overall budget mess, but Nisay’s petition also wants the President removed from office for allegedly enabling the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte who was then brought to The Hague, and the President’s alleged drug addiction.