2 impeachment raps vs Marcos rejected by SecGen

By Nash Villena, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
January 24, 2026

(Photo courtesy: BAYAN/Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) filed an impeachment complaint against President Bongbong Marcos on Thursday, January 22, citing betrayal of public trust among other offenses.

The Office of the House Secretary General, however, refused to accept the complaint, saying no one is authorized to receive it in light of the absence of House Secretary Gen. Cheloy Garafil, who is set to receive an award in Taiwan.

Nevertheless, BAYAN Chairman Teddy Casiño said they left a copy of the complaint with the office and deemed it filed as provided in the Constitution and the Rules of Impeachment.

Endorsed by members of the Makabayan bloc, BAYAN’s grounds for impeachment of Marcos included his adoption of the Baselined-Balanced-Managed (BBM) Parametric Formula for infrastructure allocation, and his abuse of authority by using unprogrammed appropriations and receiving kickbacks from the flood control scandal.

Hours following BAYAN’s visit to the SecGen office, former Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor and fellow ex-government officials critical of Marcos attempted to file a third complaint, but they were unsuccessful.

Unlike BAYAN, the Defensor camp did not leave a copy with the SecGen office, yet said they will pursue other legal options.

The two camps agree that the first impeachment complaint filed against the president was a move to trigger the one-year ban imposed by the Supreme Court, blocking the filing of other possible impeachment charges.