MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile that the massive Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally opposing Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment could set a problematic precedent.
In an ambush interview in Leyte, Marcos responded to Enrile’s recent statement questioning the implications of the INC rally, which drew 1.8 million attendees in Manila to support Duterte.
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Enrile had asked whether the nation was ready to “discard or sacrifice the value of rule of law for a person or a group of persons.”
“Well, you know, JPE is one of our best legal thinkers in the country. And he is right, there is a consequence to—there will be a precedent, and it will be very problematic,” Marcos said.
He added that Congress would have no choice but to process the impeachment complaints if filed, as it is required by law.
The president, however, also maintained that pursuing the impeachment case is impractical at this time.
“As a practical matter, we will enter the campaign period. There are no more congressmen, no senators because they are campaigning. A quorum cannot be made. And so, as a practical matter, the timing is very poor,” he said in Filipino.
Enrile, one of the nation's oldest legal experts, stressed that impeachment is a constitutional legal process. It is meant to hold officials accountable but not necessarily imprison them.
He warned that following INC’s reasoning, thereforel, could undermine the rule of law.
Duterte faces three impeachment complaints in the House of Representatives over alleged mismanagement of funds in the Office of the Vice President.
The INC, a domestic church, practices bloc voting and has historically supported candidates during elections. In 2022, it endorsed the Uniteam tandem of Marcos and Duterte a year before the two highest officials of the land started to have a political rift.