Impeachment request for President Duterte "stillborn"

The Philippine House of Representatives' Justice Committee on May 15 rejected Congressman Gary Alejano's petition to impeach President Rodrigo Duterte for "lack of certainty".

The 42-member committee voted to dismiss the complaint filed by Magdalo Party congressman Gary Alejano against Mr. Duterte.

Earlier, Mr. Alejano accused President Duterte of being involved in criminal acts and betraying public trust by hiding assets, supporting the executions of thousands of Filipinos in the war on drugs and his "failed" approach to China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Gary Alejano's complaint against President Duterte was found to be incomplete in content. Photo: Philstar

The commission said the complaint lacked substance after Mr Alejano admitted he had not witnessed killings during President Duterte's anti-drug campaign.

Mr Alejano was furious that the committee did not want to hear from him the evidence gathered from witnesses and survivors of drug-related violence, which he said could prove “the government is killing them”.

By channelABS-CBNMr. Alejano initially wanted to present the complaint but the House Justice Committee did not allow it, instead forcing him to answer the question of whether he personally witnessed all the allegations against Mr. Duterte.

Several committee members said Mr Alejano's complaint was seriously flawed. House Vice President Fredenil Castro said Mr Alejano used "rumors" to try to overthrow a duly elected president.

The committee is expected to recommend that the 292-seat Congress reject the impeachment motion, a goal that is not difficult to achieve given Duterte’s overwhelming support in Congress. In a recent poll, he received an 82% approval rating.

According to NLĐ