MANILA -- The House committee on justice unanimously upheld Tuesday the sufficiency in form of the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

The committee chaired by Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor voted 28-0 in favor of the complaint, which accuses Gutierrez of being a “coddler of the powerful and corrupt.”

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The complaint said Gutierrez failed to prosecute those involved in the P1.3-billion Mega Pacific election computerization contract and in the collusion on the World Bank-financed road projects, where the name of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo was mentioned.

Gutierrez was also dragged in the P728 million fertilizer fund scam involving former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, in the $2-million extortion case against former justice secretary Hernando “Nani” Perez, and in the P6.9-million “euro generals” scandal involving former police comptroller Eliseo dela Paz.

Gross incompetence

According to the complaint, Gutierrez showed her gross and manifest incompetence in suspending Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas for two counts of malversation in 2005 and Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia for plunder, falsification of public documents and malversation in November 2008, all in violation of their rights to due process.

Defensor had to suspend the rules at the beginning of the hearing to accommodate the demand of minority congressmen to allow former Senate president Jovito Salonga to speak not only as a complainant but as a former member of Congress.

Words of wisdom

“The least we can do, Mr. Chairman, is to listen to the words of wisdom from someone who is so distinguished, and we may all benefit from his words of wisdom,” said Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez, spokesman for the minority.

Salonga, who was given three minutes to speak, implied that they might seek relief before the Supreme Court (SC) in case the complaint is junked, which is expected to happen when the panel meets again to determine if it is sufficient in substance.

The founding chairman of the watchdog Kilosbayan noted that under Article 8 of the 1987 Constitution, “judicial power includes the power to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government.”

Camiguin Representative Pedro Romualdo lambasted the opposition congressmen who insisted that Salonga be allowed to speak, saying they were ready to break committee rules and protocol just to serve their ends.

Most of those who spoke from the minority bloc, including Golez, Teofisto Guingona III of Bukidnon, Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan, Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna and others, are all eyeing Senate seats in 2010.

"Let's not grandstand please. Let us find out whether the impeachment petition is really worthy of being investigated so that we will file the necessary impeachment before the Senate, if it is so,” Romualdo said.

Baguio Representative Mauricio Domogan said the committee may have set a “wrong precedent” when it allowed a complainant to speak even before they could determine if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.

“I think it is quite unfair for us to allow a complainant to discuss the impeachment issue when we are not yet sure whether there is enough reason to continue with the proceedings. We must first determine sufficiency in form and substance,” he said.

’Absolute majority’

During the voting, Defensor insisted that all the voting must be based on an “absolute majority” of all members, or 28 of the total 55 members (one-half of 55 plus one).

However, Golez opposed the way the voting was undertaken.

Golez said the absolute majority should be 59 since the number of ex-officio members who voted, which is four, should be added to the total membership of 55 divided by two plus one, which is 30.5 or 31.

“I believe the justice committee did not have the required quorum when it voted on sufficiency in form,” he said, citing Section 36 of the House Rules which states: “The Speaker, deputy speakers, the majority leader, deputy majority minority leaders, etc... shall be included in the total numbers of the committee members for purposes of determining the existence of a quorum if they are present in the meeting.”

Defensor stood his ground and explained that the duty of ex-officio members only substituted for the absent regular members.

"My interpretation is that following the (deputy speaker for Mindanao Simeon) Datumanong rule, which is the most recent rule, the voting should be majority of all the regular members, which is 55 divided by two plus one," he said.

Defensor also pointed out that his panel is doing a special hearing and it is not following the regular House rules that a quorum should be only 20 percent of the total members of the committee. (WV/JLCP/Sunnex)