Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan City 2nd District Edgar “Egay” Erice criticized the grounds of the first impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., describing it as trash.
In a press conference on Tuesday, January 20, Erice read out loud the articles of impeachment against Marcos Jr. Among those he criticized were the following:
Culpable Violation of the Constitution and Betrayal of Public Trust
The complaint alleges that Marcos enabled the kidnapping and surrender of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, in relation to the war on drugs campaign.
The lawmaker told reporters, “It would require a lot of documents to link the President. Kung wala ito [documents], basura ito.”
Graft and Corruption
The grounds of graft and corruption involve the alleged systematic plunder of the national budget through unprogrammed appropriations and ghost flood control projects, specifically citing the claim of the P100 billion insertions in the 2025 budget for kickbacks. This was previously mentioned by former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co in a video uploaded on social media, also implicating former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Ito yung sinabi ni Zaldy Co. Wala naman dito si Zaldy Co, wala namang affidavit si Zaldy Co, so basura t'o,” Erice stressed.
Unfitness for Office
The ground tackles Marcos’ alleged drug use. “‘Yung tungkol sa pagiging [umano’y] drug addict. No way naman na mapo-prove ‘to dahil hindi naman natin pwedeng pilitin si Presidente na magpa drug test and hindi naman pwede maging ebidensya yung testimony ng kanyang kapatid. So, basura uli ito,” Erice highlighted.
Last year, Senator Imee Marcos accused her brother, President Marcos Jr., of drug use during a speech at the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s (INC) anti-corruption rally in Manila.
Abuse of Power
The complainant alleged that the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) was weaponized and that Marcos’ political allies target its enemies.
Erice dismissed the ground, stating, “I don’t think this is an impeachable offense.”
Failure to Exercise Veto Power
While Erice had been critical of the articles of impeachment against the President, he told reporters that the Failure to Exercise Veto Power may be a possible ground. However, he noted that the complainant would need to attach several documents as evidence.
“In fact, pine-prepare ko sa study ko ‘yung tungkol dito sa mga diversitions and amendments and insertions. Pine-prepare ko sa study ko yung effect ng general provision, No. 91, na nailipat yung PDIC [Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation] funds tsaka yung PhilHealth funds,” he said.
“‘Yung study baka kulang yung 50 pages. Ito yung buong complaint, 15 pages. I don’t think the complainant can prove the guilt of the President with just these news articles as evidence,” he added.
Atty. Andre de Jesus lodged the first impeachment complaint against Marcos on Monday, January 19, and Pusong Pinoy Partylist Rep. Jett Nisay endorsed it.
When asked for Erice’s comment on the filing of the impeachment complaint, he responded, “I don’t know his [Atty. de Jesus] motive pero sana huwag mangyari. Kasi alam mo, ‘yung paggawa ng impeachment complaint, napaka tagal niya. May mga nag-imbita sa akin para maging endorser pero tumanggi ako. Sabi nga nila, they are preparing for the impeachment complaint.”
Moreover, Erice said that the Makabayan Bloc is also preparing a separate impeachment complaint.
“Sana hindi mapigilan nitong impeachment complaint na ito ‘yung mga susunod pang impeachment complaint. Kasi under the rules, may 10 days si Secretary General to refer it to the…Speaker, then the Committee on Rules. Pagkatapos pag na-refer na ito sa Committee on Justice ay wala nang ibang pwedeng makapag file ng impeachment,” he explained.
