PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday, November 29, 2024, urged the House of Representatives not to pursue an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
In an interview in Lucena City, Marcos said an impeachment case would take too much time and would not benefit the Filipino people.
“This is not important. This does not make any difference to even one, single Filipino life. So, why waste time on this?” said Marcos.
“What will happen if somebody files an impeachment? It will tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate. It will just take up all our time, for what? For nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino life,” he added.
On Thursday, November 28, a text message from Marcos urging lawmakers not to file an impeachment complaint against Duterte circulated on social media.
“In the larger scheme of things, Sara is unimportant. So please do not file impeachment complaints,” the text message read.
Duterte earlier said the House of Representatives is conducting an inquiry on how her office spends its budget in a bid to build up an impeachment case against her.
She tagged Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is reportedly eyeing the presidency in the 2028 national elections, amid the alleged political attack against her.
Over the weekend, Duterte, during an online press conference, cursed at Marcos, his wife First Lady Liza, and Romualdez and promised to have them killed if she is killed first.
Duterte had an outburst following the detention of her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, as ordered by the House committee on good government and public accountability.
Lopez was cited in contempt for "undue interference" in their probe, particularly regarding her alleged transfer to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
In response, Marcos said he will not let Duterte’s “criminal attempts” just pass.
In a later interview, Marcos described the ongoing tension between him and Duterte as “a storm in a teacup.”
“Never say never,” Marcos said when asked to comment on Duterte’s statement that their relationship had already reached a point of no return. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)