Speaker Alvarez (left): ”We will repair this damaged institution.” Comelec head Bautista, right, probably surprised at the sudden turn of events.
According to the House rules on impeachment adopted in 2005, the 51-member committee on justice was required to determine whether an impeachment complaint is “sufficient in form and substance”. The committee in September 21 voted to dismiss the complaint for being “insufficient in form,” on the very technical—and really absurd—grounds that one of documents wasn’t “attested to” before the House’s secretary-general (who is not even an elected representative).