Marcos Jnr says impeaching Sara Duterte won’t ‘improve a single Filipino life’

The Philippine president said debate over impeachment of his deputy, who has embroiled in a bitter row with him, is a ‘storm in a teacup’

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Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte attends a legislative inquiry at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on November 25. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:57pm, 29 Nov 2024

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr 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.

Congresswoman 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?” Marcos told reporters. “None of this will help improve a single Filipino life. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a storm in a teacup.”

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.

02:23

‘No joke’: Philippine vice-president says she hired an assassin in case she was killed

Last 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.