Process moved forward.
One lawmaker moved out.

Manila 6th District Representative Benny Abante walked out of a House Justice Committee hearing on February 2, 2026, moments after the panel ruled the second impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “sufficient in form.”

Abante objected to the declaration, questioning whether the complainants were legitimate taxpayers and insisting that the complaint suffered from insufficiency in form. He then announced his decision to leave the proceedings.

“It is very clear that there is insufficiency in form… I therefore would like to walk out of this hearing right now.”

Committee members proceeded after the walkout, noting that the ruling pertained strictly to form, not substance—an early procedural threshold that allows the process to continue to the next stage.

Discreetly, the moment captures a recurring feature of impeachment proceedings: when rulings go against a member’s position, dissent sometimes shifts from debate to departure. Supporters frame the walkout as a protest of principle; critics see it as conceding the room at the very moment deliberation matters most.

Quiet satire writes itself: the complaint stayed seated; the objection stood up and left.