However, the House Office of the Secretary General (OSG) refused to accept the filing because Secretary General Cheloy Garafil was not available to receive it. Human rights lawyers and Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares said her physical absence should not prevent the filing of an impeachment complaint. The House rules state that complaints be filed with the OSG and not necessarily the secretary general themselves. The complaint filed by progressive groups was supposed to be the second impeachment complaint filed against the president this week, and the complainants consider it filed despite Garafil's absence. The three-member Makabayan bloc of the House minority was set to endorse the complaint, as it had done in previous impeachment efforts.

Source: Philippine Star January 22, 2026 09:58 UTC