A House leader criticized Imee Marcos for repeatedly attacking the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying her statements increasingly resemble arguments for the defense rather than the stance expected of a senator-judge.
Zia Alonto Adiong, House Assistant Majority Leader and chairperson of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said Marcos’ repeated criticisms of the House of Representatives and her public remarks on the impeachment case raise concerns about her ability to remain impartial once the Senate convenes as an impeachment court.
“Instead of preparing to objectively evaluate the evidence once the impeachment trial begins, Senator Imee Marcos appears to have already taken a partisan position by constantly attacking the House, questioning motives, and advancing narratives favorable to the Vice President,” Adiong said.
He stressed that senator-judges are expected to observe restraint, fairness, and neutrality during impeachment proceedings.
“A senator-judge is expected to approach an impeachment trial with sobriety, fairness, and restraint. But what the public is seeing are repeated statements that sound less like judicial impartiality and more like advanced talking points for the defense,” he added.
Adiong also rejected Marcos’ claim that the House was deliberately delaying the transmittal of impeachment records to the Senate.
According to the lawmaker, the Articles of Impeachment involve thousands of pages of supporting documents that must undergo careful preparation, verification, and reproduction before being formally transmitted to the Upper Chamber.
“The Articles of Impeachment are not a one-page resolution that can simply be stapled and handed over in an afternoon. These involve thousands of pages of annexes, transcripts, certifications, sworn statements, financial records, and documentary evidence that must be reproduced completely and accurately,” Adiong said.
He emphasized that the House was complying with constitutional requirements that demand precision and due diligence rather than speed driven by political pressure or public optics.
“This is not political theater. This is a constitutional process that requires precision, completeness, and due diligence. Would the senator prefer incomplete records and defective transmittals, only to later question the integrity of the process herself?” he said.
Adiong said the House intends to ensure that all records submitted to the Senate are complete, organized, and legally sound.
“We cannot trivialize due process simply to satisfy media sound bites or artificial political timelines,” he added.
The House leader also pushed back against Marcos’ repeated insinuations that lawmakers were motivated by money, projects, or political favors in supporting the impeachment complaint.
“For weeks now, Marcos has been training her guns on the House of Representatives, casually throwing around allegations of bribery, rewards, and political maneuvering tied to the impeachment vote. Yet up to now, she has not presented a single affidavit, witness, document, or admissible evidence to support these accusations,” Adiong said.
“Madaling magbato ng paratang sa media. Mas mahirap patunayan iyon sa ilalim ng panunumpa,” he added.
Adiong said it was irresponsible to reduce the impeachment vote to unsupported allegations of bribery, particularly after more than 250 lawmakers backed the complaint.
“To casually suggest that more than 250 lawmakers abandoned their conscience and constitutional duty in exchange for favors is deeply irresponsible and insulting not only to Congress, but also to the Filipino people who elected us,” he said.
He maintained that impeachment is part of Congress’ constitutional duty to uphold accountability in public office.
“The Constitution does not suspend accountability during difficult times. In fact, accountability becomes even more important when Filipinos are suffering because every peso of public funds matters more,” Adiong said.