Progressive groups filed a second impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with the House of Representatives on January 22, 2026, but claimed the chamber refused to accept it. Endorsed by the Makabayan bloc, it accuses him of betrayal of public trust. Petitioners left a copy at the secretary general's office.
In Manila, progressive groups submitted a second impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the House of Representatives on Thursday, January 22, 2026. It was endorsed by the three-member Makabayan bloc: Sarah Elago, Antonio Tinio, and Renee Co. The petition accuses him of betrayal of public trust, a constitutional ground for impeachment.
House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil was absent to receive it, as she is scheduled to receive an award in Taiwan on January 23. Despite this, petitioners insisted they complied with House rules by leaving a copy at her office. Former Bayan Muna congressman Teddy Casiño said, “They don’t want to accept it so what we did was leave a copy with her office. As far as the complainants are concerned, we have complied with the rules.”
A prior complaint was filed on January 19, endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Rep. Jett Nisay, viewed as weak and likely to be dismissed. If junked, Marcos would gain one-year immunity from impeachment. However, if the Left's petition is successfully filed before the January 26 plenary session, it will be among the first batch reviewed by the justice committee.
Bayan president Renato Reyes warned, “If we allow (the impeachment process to be a race), what will happen is that every year, someone will file a weak complaint just to trigger the one-year ban and protect the impeachable official.”
Allegations include the creation of the “BBM parametric formula” for budget allocation, flood control corruption, unprogrammed appropriations mess, and public works kickback scheme. Evidence includes a DPWH document, Special Allotment Release Orders authorizing P213.8 billion, affidavits from former undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and the “Cabral files.”
The petition states: “The flood control corruption scandal is not a case of isolated wrongdoing by rogue officials. It is not a matter of a few contractors bribing a few engineers. It is a systematic, institutionalized scheme of plunder designed from the top and executed through the deliberate abuse of presidential discretionary.”
