MANILA, Philippines — Despite their apparent rift, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday confirmed that he blocked an impeachment move against Vice President Sara Duterte, saying it will only ‘tie down’ both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
In a media interview in Lucena City, Quezon, Marcos confirmed his text message urging his allies in Congress not to file an impeachment complaint against Duterte following her ‘kill’ remarks against him, first lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Well, it was actually a private communication but it got leaked. Yes. Because that’s really my opinion,” Marcos told reporters.
“This is not important. This does not make a difference to even one single Filipino life. So why waste time on it?” he added.
“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. And for not, for what? For nothing. For nothing,” Marcos said.
“None of this will help improve a single Filipino life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a storm in a teacup,” he added.
However, the President seemed to be holding on to hope that the rift between him and Duterte would be healed.
Asked if he has reached the point of no return with the vice president. Marcos said: “Never say never.”
Duterte, a former ally of Marcos, revealed as early as August this year that there was a plot in the House to impeach her amid the ongoing investigation on the use of the P125 million confidential funds which is not in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.
Marcos and Duterte, who were running mates in the 2022 presidential elections, have been embroiled in a worsening clash over the past months after the vice president quit her post as Education secretary.
The feud has since escalated, with Duterte recently admitting that she instructed someone to kill Marcos, his wife first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and cousin Romualdez if she herself dies, a statement she has since claimed has been “maliciously taken out of context.”
Duterte said her remarks were not a threat, and that she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security.
“They can always try to impeach me. They can always spend and waste the government’s money to impeach the vice president,” she said.
In response, Marcos vowed to block “criminal attempts” against his life.
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