MANILA, Philippines — Are we ready to sacrifice the rule of law?
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile raised the question days after religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) held a rally to back President Marcos’ stance against impeaching his former ally-turned-arch critic Vice President Sara Duterte.
“There is a bigger question. Can the INC with all its members amend the Constitution or suspend any of its provisions? Are we prepared to discard or sacrifice the value of rule of law for a person or a group of persons?” Enrile said in a Facebook post Wednesday night.
“As a nation and a state, we will incur a very detrimental precedent if we follow the logic implicit in the INC rally that they mounted. Are we prepared and ready to face the long term consequences of that INC move?” he added.
Enrile, a former Senate president, said impeachment is just a constitutional legal process to remove a government official from office if there is ground and evidence to support it. The impeached official is not going to jail by the mere fact of his impeachment, Marcos’ chief legal adviser added.
Sought for comment, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Marcos still opposes efforts to impeach the Vice President.
“While his (Enrile) thoughts may carry weight and are always valued, his is one of many that the President seriously considers. Nonetheless, the President’s stand on the issue concerned remains unchanged,” Bersamin said in a statement.
According to Bersamin, Marcos “has always nurtured a culture of open ventilation of ideas within the Cabinet.”
“In this way policymaking is enriched by diverse views resulting in decisions distilled from a wealth of varied experiences, different disciplines, and special expertise of those who contribute. It is in this spirit that Secretary Enrile came forward with his views,” the executive secretary said.
Duterte, who ran alongside Marcos in 2022 under the UniTeam coalition, is facing three impeachment complaints for allegedly violating her constitutional oath and engaging in gross misconduct.
Supporters of the impeachment efforts accuse her of failing to properly account for the confidential funds granted to her office and having unexplained wealth, among other allegations.
Some of the groups that filed an impeachment complaint against Duterte also claimed that she does not have the mental fitness to continue holding office, citing her remark that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez, should an assassination plot on her succeed.
In an earlier interview, Marcos said impeaching the Vice President is just a waste of time and would not make any difference in the lives of Filipinos.
Known for its bloc voting, the INC supported Marcos and Duterte during the 2022 elections. About 1.8 million members of the group participated in the rally, which was held in 13 areas across the country last Jan. 13, according to the police.