Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday characterized the newly filed impeachment complaint against her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., as a "drama series" that is likely to persist for a year.
During a news conference at the Senate, Marcos expressed skepticism regarding the filing, which was submitted to the House of Representatives on Monday, January 19, by House Deputy Minority Leader and Pusong Pinoy Party-list Rep. Jett Nisay through lawyer Andre de Jesus.
Marcos admitted she had not thoroughly read the contents of the complaint, but stated that the identity and background of the complainants already made the move questionable.
"It’s another drama series that looks like it will last a year," Senator Marcos told reporters. "We know who filed it and what their background is. I haven't read it closely because I find the situation laughable. It's a very obvious drama series—we’ve seen many movies like this before, and they’ve already performed well at the box office."
The Senator’s remarks follow reports that the lawyer who filed the impeachment complaint against the President was previously associated with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
Senator Marcos also pointed toward a potential second "front" in the country's political landscape: a rumored impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
She noted that February 6 marks the end of the one-year ban on filing a new impeachment case against the Vice President. This follows the dismissal of a previous attempt during the leadership of former Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
"There is an impeachment complaint expected against the VP again, right? February 6 is the due date," she noted.
When asked how the Senate would manage its legislative workload if two separate impeachment trials were to reach the upper chamber, Marcos remained cautious.
She emphasized that if the complaints pass the House of Representatives, the Senators would be sworn in as judges.
"If those pass, [the senators] will all be Senator-Judges. I will no longer comment on the expected second impeachment complaint against VP Sara, but I believe Congress knows what happened in the last election," Marcos added.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment, while the Senate has the sole power to try and decide such cases.
