Marcos: SC ruling on Sara impeachment raps not on merits of complaints
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Friday that the Supreme Court's decision declaring the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional did not have any bearing on the merits of the case.
Marcos stated that the High Tribunal's move was based on a procedural question, rather than the merits of the case.
'We have to make very, very clear to everyone that the Supreme Court decision does not have any bearing on the rightness or wrongness of the merits of the impeachment case. They're not saying that there was no wrongdoing,'' Marcos said.
"Neither are they saying there was wrongdoing. All they're saying is you did not handle it properly. That's it,'' he added.
Marcos also maintained that he had no role in the impeachment process against the Vice President, who was his running mate in the 2022 national elections. He noted that he is also an impeachable official.
''I keep telling you, the Executive has no role in this. The President has no role. I'm an impeachable officer. I cannot involve myself in any of this. So, it's really the Supreme Court, the Senate, and the House,'' Marcos said.
''So, that's where the decisions were made on the issues between the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has decided, and like I've said, that's it. The Supreme Court has decided,'' he added.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment against Duterte, following the decision of the SC to declare her impeachment unconstitutional.
The High Tribunal argued that it was barred by the one-year bar rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution.
The SC also found that the articles violated Duterte's right to due process.
For her part, Duterte urged respect for the decision made by the Senate. –NB, GMA Integrated News
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