Manila: An opposition lawmaker filed an impeachment complaint in the Philippine Congress on Thursday against President Rodrigo Duterte, calling for his removal for what he said were high crimes, betrayal of public trust and abuses of power.
Lower house representative Gary Alejano accused Duterte of a laundry list of what he said were impeachable offences, from conflicts of interest and assets concealment to drugs-related extrajudicial killings and operating a “death squad” during the 22 years he was Davao City mayor.
Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, called it baseless “black propaganda”, adding the impeachment bid “will not fly, nor will it make a dent on the overwhelming popularity” of the president.
Alejano said his aim was to give Filipinos a chance to speak up against a powerful president who had overstepped the mark.
Impeachment is a constitutional process to oust an elected official or an executive who draws his or her mandate from an appointment given by the President or Congress.
The complaint is the first one to be lodged against Duterte who had so far been President for eight months.
A former mayor of Davao City for several elected terms and a prosecutor before that, Duterte had been accused of involvement in extrajudicial killings. And while the President, who had openly said he had killed criminals, none of these had been proven in court.
Under the complaint by Alejano, who had taken part in a military mutiny in the past, Duterte should be held accountable for “culpably violating his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the laws of the land and wilfully committing the high crimes of bribery, multiple murder and other crimes against humanity.
Alejano said the President adopted a state policy of utilising policemen, other law enforcement officers and vigilante groups into the extrajudicial killings. He claimed that more than 8,000 drug suspects were killed without due process of law
The former marine was supported in his complaint against Duterte by Senator Antonio Trillianes IV who was with the navy. Both of whom had led the failed Oakwood Mutiny in Makati City in 2003 which tried to oust then President and now Pampanga congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Being part of Magdalo, I welcome and support Cong. Gary Alejano’s filing of impeachment complaint against President Duterte. It is the last venue left for him to face the allegations against him,” Trillianes said.
Magdalo is a clique of right-wing military officers whose members are now in the legislature.
The impeachment complaint was brought up, at a time when Congress started its summer recess.
Reacting to the filing of the complaint, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said they are unfazed by the move in the House of Representatives.
“This is part of nation building and we will continue on with what we are doing despite the noise,” Abella said.
In order for the complaint to prosper at the House of Representatives, it must have the necessary support from two-thirds of the more than 300 members of the chamber.
If and when it ever garners this support, the President will be put on trial based on the accusations levelled against him.
But leaders of the House of Representatives said it is very unlikely that the complaint would be taken up at the committee level of the chamber.
“Simply put, this is stupidity, period,” said House Speaker, Pantaleo Alvarez.
Alvarez is a known political ally of Duterte.
Despite this, Alvarez said the impeachment complaint will undergo the prescribed procedure in the House of Representatives.
The House leader said the complaint might have a chance to comply with the requirements of proper form but he said the complaint will definitely fail on the requirement for sufficiency in substance to prosper.
“As clear as sunshine, it does not have the necessary support in numbers at the House of Representatives,” he said.
