Sandro Marcos: Backing 1st impeachment vs Duterte spurred by emotions

MANILA, Philippines — House of Representatives Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos has admitted that his decision to support the first attempt to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte was spurred by emotions, noting that he acted more of a “son” than a lawmaker.

Marcos, during an ambush interview on Wednesday, begged off from answering questions on whether the House prosecution team was able to build a strong case against Duterte this time around, as his answers may be prejudged.

When it was pointed to him that he was the first to sign the fourth impeachment rap in the first set of complaints against Duterte — which was adopted by the House of the 19th Congress in February 2025 — Marcos explained that his decision was driven by emotions.

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READ: Senate majority picks Escudero to preside over Sara Duterte trial

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“Again, I don’t wanna comment, you’re right I was the first person to sign the last impeachment. But again, I think that was me being more of a son than a House member,” Marcos said.

“To tell you the truth I did let my emotions get the better of me, that was the first time I experienced something like that, so of course, I guess lesson learned,” he added.

Marcos is the son of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos — two individuals who were badmouthed by Duterte in a November 2024 livestream.

However, the Majority Leader said that he can no longer rely on emotions since he is now a House official, and therefore represents the entire majority bloc.

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“You have to remember I wasn’t majority leader at the time and now that I am — I was senior deputy majority leader […] so it’s different now,” Marcos said.

“You know, I don’t only represent the first district of Ilocos Norte, I’m not only the son of the president but I also represent the institution now as majority leader so it’s different,” he added.

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Let the luminaries speak

The younger Marcos was asked several times as to what he thinks of the impeachment proceedings now — like whether the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president will facilitate a smooth trial, and whether the threshold for conviction should be lowered.

In all these matters, Marcos said he does not want to comment — adding that discussions on the lowering of the 16 votes needed to convict Duterte should be up to legal luminaries.

“You know, I’m going to leave that to the legal luminaries of both chambers, I’m not a lawyer and I never pretend to be one, so their understanding of the Constitution is much more warranted than mine,” Marcos said.

“So let us just listen to them, I guess, former Supreme Court justices, those who are well-versed in the Constitution, I think we deserve to listen to them more than me,” he added.

On Gatchalian’s election, Marcos said he believes in the Senate President’s ability to be “impartial and fair.” But when asked if he thinks the prosecution team was able to build a strong case, the majority leader said that his relation to the president hinders him from giving the best comment possible.

“Again, because of who I am and my relation to the president, I’m not in the best place to comment on the impeachment. Right? Because if I tell you that case is strong, (the people will say) ‘of course, he will say that because he’s the President’s son,’” he said.

“If I say that it’s weak, they will claim that ‘he’s just playing pretend because he’s politicking.’ So, again, I’m not in the best position to comment on that,” he added.

Marcos’ comments on the impeachment have been few, saying as early as January 2026 that he would not involve himself in impeachment discussions, whether it is about the complaints filed against his father or Duterte.

READ: Sandro Marcos to recuse from talks on dad’s impeachment

Last January, two impeachment complaints were filed against President Marcos.  Both, however, were dismissed after being declared insufficient in substance.

READ: Marcos faces impeachment over ‘Duterte kidnapping,’ flood control mess

Duterte, meanwhile, was impeached for a second time last May 11, after 257 House lawmakers voted in favor of adopting House Resolution (HR) No. 989 which contains the Articles of Impeachment.  Only 25 members voted against it, while nine abstained.

According to HR No. 989, the allegations in the two complaints tackled by the House committee on justice were consolidated into four grounds:

culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust through the systematic liquidation misuse, misappropriation, and irregular of confidential funds amounting to P500 million under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million under the Department of Education (DepEd);

culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust when Duterte amassed unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official;

bribery, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust when she gave monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws; and

culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, and betrayal of public trust by contracting for the assassination of the President, the First Lady, and the former speaker of the House, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic. /das

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