Philippine president says impeaching the vice president, his rival, would be a waste of time

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday that filing impeachment complaints against the vice president, who is facing a legal storm after publicly threatening to have him killed, would be a waste of time for Congress.

It was unclear whether Marcos’ remark would stop plans by several groups to file impeachment complaints against Duterte over a number of criminal allegations, including her alleged misuse of confidential government funds and her recent public threat to have the president, his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives killed if she herself were killed in a plot she has not detailed.

The legal troubles facing the vice president and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, are unfolding in the backdrop of their worsening feud with Marcos. It's the latest battle between the country's most powerful families in a long-unwieldy democracy that has been dominated for decades by political dynasties.

But Marcos played down the political showdown.

"It’s a storm in a teacup,” he told reporters.

"This is not important. This will not make any difference to even one single Filipino life, so, why waste time on it?” he said of an impeachment. Impeachment complaints are being prepared for filing before the House, which is led by Marcos’ cousin and political ally, Martin Romualdez.

Duterte regards Romualdez as a bitter opponent. Both are seen as potential presidential candidates in 2028.

Duterte has ruled out a political reconciliation with Marcos. They were running mates in 2022 and won by landslides in a campaign of national unity but later had a falling out on several issues, including over their support for China or the Unites States.

Marcos has strengthened a defense alliance with the U.S. as the Philippines faces an increasingly aggressive China in the disputed South China Sea.

The vice president has refused to condemn China’s assertive actions and her father nurtured close ties as president with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin while criticizing U.S. and Western security policies.

Marcos has also opposed the former president’s anti-drug crackdown that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead and sparked an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

When asked about the vice president’s remark that their estranged political alliance “has reached a point of return,” the president said, “Never say never."

Duterte, a 46-year-old lawyer, failed to appear on Friday before investigators at the National Bureau of Investigation, which issued a subpoena for her to explain her threats against the president, his wife and Romualdez, which were made in an online news conference over the weekend.

She said she needed to see the questions she would face, and her appearance before the investigators was reset to Dec. 11. The vice president has said her remarks were not actual threats and were made to highlight an unspecified danger she was facing.

Marcos has said her remarks were a criminal plot and added he would fight back.

Under Philippine law, such public remarks may constitute a crime of threatening to inflict a wrong on a person or their family and are punishable by a prison term and fine.

Separately, the Department of Justice has said investigators are looking into potentially seditious remarks by the vice president’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who said in a news conference on Monday that the government would only seriously listen to allegations of government corruption if the military speaks up.

“There is a fractured governance,” the former president said. “It is only the military who can correct it.”

He clarified that he was not calling on the military to stage an uprising. He also asked how long the military could still serve under a commander in chief “who is a drug addict” — an accusation he has made often and Marcos has repeatedly denied.

Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila contributed to this report.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago talks to reporters during a news conference, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Pasay, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

FILE - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., center right, and Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, raise hands during the inauguration ceremony at National Museum on Thursday, June 30, 2022 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, left, speaks as she attends a hearing at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines on Monday Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago holds a copy of a letter from the lawyer of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte during a news conference, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Pasay, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — One of the Middle East and North Africa's largest film festivals opened Friday in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries.

The Marrakech International Film Festival, now in its 21st year, will showcase Oscar contenders and screen films for members of the public. But unlike larger festivals in Venice, Cannes or Toronto, it places unique emphasis on emerging directors and films from the Middle East and Africa.

The roster of actors and directors who will participate in this year’s conversations and tributes includes Sean Penn, Alfonso Cuaron and David Cronenberg.

Remi Bonhomme, the festival's artistic director, said what makes the festival unique is its ability to draw talent on par with the world's largest festivals while also spotlighting up-and-coming directors from Morocco, the Middle East and Africa.

“We pay a lot of attention to countries that are underrepresented in cinema,” he said. “We support filmmakers who have their own voice, who develop a story that is in a specific context, whether it is Iran, Morocco or the U.S."

“But they don’t have to be the voice of their country. They have the need to have the freedom to express their own personal vision,” he added.

Among the themes that Bonhomme is excited about in this year's films is family. Filmmakers, including “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” director Mohammad Rasoulof, are “exploring social and political impact through the scale of a family,” Bonhomme said.

The festival opens Friday with “The Order” — a thriller starring Jude Law that chronicles an FBI manhunt for the leader of a white supremacist group.

The jury competition contains 14 first or second films. The nine-person jury includes actors Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield as well as Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish director of “The Apprentice.” Luca Guadagnino, the Italian-Algerian director of “Queer” will preside over the jury.

The films in competition include Saïd Hamich's “Across the Sea” about a young Moroccan man's immigration to Marseille and Damian Kocur's “Under the Volcano,” Poland's Oscar entry for Best International Feature.

The festival — founded by Morocco's King Mohammed VI and is presided over by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid — plays a major role in showcasing and promoting Moroccan films and directors.

It has rarely shied away from diverse subject matter and this year will screen Moroccan films about immigration, homosexuality, bar performers and Moroccan communist Jews.

FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)