Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) receives US defence secretary Lloyd Austin during a courtesy call at the Malacanang Palace in Manila. (AFP pic)
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Friday that any impeachment complaint against his estranged vice president Sara Duterte, who over the weekend made threats against his life, would only tie down Congress and not help people.
Congressman France Castro was quoted by ABS-CBN News as saying on Friday that lawmakers in the lower house are set to file an impeachment complaint against Duterte for betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes such as plunder.
“Why waste time on it? None of this will help improve a single Filipino life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a storm in a teacup,” Marcos told reporters.
Duterte has been embroiled in a bitter row with Marcos and his cousin, house speaker Martin Romualdez, since the collapse of a formidable alliance between their two powerful families that helped Marcos win the 2022 election by a huge margin.
Lawmakers are investigating Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds during her tenure as education secretary. Duterte, who quit her cabinet post in June, has denied wrongdoing.
On Saturday, Duterte said she had hired an assassin to kill the president, his wife and Romualdez, in the event that she herself were killed, prompting a strong rebuke from Marcos.
Law enforcement officials had summoned Duterte for questioning over the statement on Friday, but the vice president failed to appear and asked for a new schedule. Her lawyers said she had office matters requiring her urgent attention.
Asked if his relationship with the vice president is irreparable, Marcos replied: “Never say never.”
