Former National Youth Commission chairperson Ronald Cardema and wife, Marie Cardema, failed to file an impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Thursday over the March 11 arrest and detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte in the Netherlands.
In a statement, the Cardema couple said the Office of the House Secretary General Reginald Velasco did not receive their impeachment complaint even if it is already a verified one given that it has been endorsed by Duterte Youth party-list lawmaker Ducielle Cardema, sister of Ronald, the group’s chairperson.
“As of 5 p.m., the Office of Secretary-General of the House of Representatives has not yet accepted the verified impeachment complaint of Ronald Cardema and Marie Cardema, stating that it should be the Secretary General himself,” the Cardema couple said.
“Again, according to the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings, Rule 2 Section 3, a verified complaint for impeachment by a member of the House or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary-General. It does not state that it should be the Head of Office himself,” they added.
Further, the Cardemas argued that it is a “ministerial duty” on the part of Velasco’s office to receive the impeachment complaint.
Sought for comment, Velasco told GMA News Online their office was closed on Thursday due to a strategic planning seminar attended by all the staff of the Office of the Secretary General.
He said they will resume work on Tuesday, May 13.
In a separate interview, Ronald said he is filing an impeachment complaint against the President because Duterte was surrendered to foreigners.
The former President was arrested by authorities on March 11 after arriving from a flight from Hong Kong on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Hague-based International Criminal Court.
“The Articles of Impeachment, culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, zeroed in on handing over a Filipino citizen to foreigners. Under the Constitution, sovereignty resides in the Filipino people. So when you surrendered a Filipino to the foreigners, you surrendered our sovereignty,” Cardema told reporters.
Under Republic Act 9851 or the Act on the Crimes against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, the Philippine government can defer the probe on alleged crimes against humanity to an international court already conducting an inquiry on the same.
Likewise, a July 2021 Supreme Court ruling also mandates the Philippine government to cooperate with ICC proceedings, provided that the alleged crimes were committed during the time that the Philippines was still a signatory to the ICC.
The Philippines, with Duterte as President, announced its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, on March 14, 2018.
The withdrawal took effect a year later on March 14, 2019.
—LDF, GMA Integrated News
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House Office of SecGen didn’t accept impeachment raps vs. Marcos —Duterte Youth head
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