AN overwhelming 284 votes from the House of Representatives on Tuesday affirmed that the Committee on Justice was right in junking the two impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., decisively backing the panel’s finding that the cases were insufficient in substance and unworthy of proceeding further.
Justice Committee Chairperson Jerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro of Batangas said the sheer margin went beyond the constitutional one-third threshold and spoke volumes about the correctness of the panel’s judgment.
With the 284-vote affirmation, Luistro said the House sent a clear signal that the justice panel’s action was correct — and that impeachment, as lawmakers stressed, must remain a constitutional safeguard, not a tool for political theater.
“Dito sa nangyari po kanina, hindi lang po one-third, 284. Even ako’y nagulat with the 284 votes. That is overwhelming and it only shows, humbly speaking, na tama ang naging judgment ng mga justice members,” Luistro said during media interview after the plenary adopted Committee Report No. 111.
Voting 284-8 with four abstentions, the House adopted the justice panel’s recommendation dismissing the complaints for lack of substance.
The House Plenary adopted Committee Report No. 111, submitted by the Committee on Justice regarding House Resolution (HR) No. 746, entitled: Resolution Dismissing the complaints for impeachment filed by Atty. Andre R. De Jesus and Liza Maza, Teodoro A. Casiño, Renato Reyes, Jr., Atty. Neri Colmenares, et al. against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.
The vote also triggered the one-year constitutional bar on filing or receiving another impeachment complaint against the President, Luistro said.
“Na-initiate po itong impeachment complaint against the President last January 26, 2026… following the ruling in Francisco v. House of Representatives, it is the referral to the Justice Committee which triggers the running of the one-year prohibition period,” Luistro said, adding that impeachment complaints against the President are barred until Jan. 26, 2027.
Asked whether the same complainants could refile next year with the same allegations, Luistro said it could be possible because the panel did not reach the merits. “I am inclined to believe na puwede, kasi wala naman res judicata… hindi naman napag-usapan in full length ang substance…” she said, while stressing that any future filing must cure the deficiencies flagged by the committee, including lack of personal knowledge, absence of authentic records, failure to establish factual nexus or connections, and lack of personal participation of the impeachable official.
On the floor, Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Vicente “Bambi” B. Emano of Misamis Oriental underscored that the vote was a constitutional exercise, not politics.
“This is not a political vote… This is a constitutional moment,” Emano, a stalwart of the Nacionalista Party (NP), said, adding that impeachment must be handled with “disciplined prudence and fidelity to the law,” and cannot be triggered by inference, association, or generalized accusation.
The Justice panel earlier found both complaints sufficient in form but insufficient in substance, explaining that sufficiency requires specific facts supported by credible evidence showing the respondent’s direct and personal participation.
The committee voted 42-1, with three abstentions, to declare the De Jesus complaint insufficient in substance, while a motion to declare the Maza et al. complaint sufficient was defeated 7-39.
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