Philippine Congress Demonstrates the Constitutional Process Working Exactly as Designed By People Who Control the Process
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
Philippines Impeachment Process: The System Worked, Which Is the Problem
MANILA — The Philippine House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to dismiss impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in February, with the House Justice Committee concluding that the complaints “lacked substance.” The complaints alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and constitutional violations related to the flood control scandal. The House dismissed them. The House contains a substantial majority of Marcos allies. Both of these facts are relevant to understanding the outcome.
Deputy Speaker Janette Garin delivered the formal announcement: “The impeachment complaints filed against the president, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. are hereby dismissed.” The statement was received with the equanimity appropriate to an outcome that was described even before the vote as “largely expected” by those familiar with how many House members receive their “allocable” budget funds.
How the Constitutional Process Works
The Philippine constitution assigns impeachment proceedings to the House for initial review. The House makes a threshold determination about whether complaints have merit. The House, composed predominantly of members politically aligned with the administration, made the determination that the complaints against the administration’s head did not meet the threshold. This is the constitutional process operating as designed, which is the unsatisfying part of the analysis: a process that produces this outcome reliably is either functioning or malfunctioning depending on your theory of what accountability processes are supposed to achieve.
Only one of five impeached officials in Philippine history has been convicted and removed. The success rate for impeachment as an accountability tool is 20 percent. Britain maintains formal processes for things that don’t quite work; the Philippines maintains a constitutional accountability mechanism that works in the sense that it runs through its steps and produces a result, and does not work in the sense that it produces accountability. The luggage testimony is still in the Senate record. The flood control money is still allocated. The complaints are dismissed. Manila flooded again last month.