Wednesday, November 28, 2007 7 of 8 Cebuano congressmen believe Pulido complaint vs. GMA insufficient in substance
SEVEN of the eight Cebuano members of the House of Representatives voted to adopt the committee report that declared lawyer Roel Pulido’s impeachment complaint insufficient in substance.
For Cebu City Reps. Antonio Cuenco and Raul del Mar, the impeachment complaint, the third against President Arroyo in as many years, was doomed from the start.
“It’s no surprise. Almost everyone voted in favor of the report, except the endorser. This reflects that the complaint is really insufficient in substance. To me it’s a very weak complaint and the opposition only have themselves to blame,” del Mar told Sun.Star Cebu.
The opposition, he said, could have filed a stronger impeachment complaint against the President and they had ample time to do so ahead of Pulido.
In a separate interview, Cuenco said the opposition should start preparing their next impeachment complaint, which they can file one year from now.
Cuenco said the Pulido complaint was junked because it had no basis and was merely speculative.
“We would be remiss in our job if we accommodate a complaint like that. It was a sham complaint. The problem lies in the opposition. They should have been more prepared but Pulido beat them to the draw,” he said.
Cuenco said that after the voting, the complaint and the report will be sent to the House’s archives.
As a legal remedy, however, the complainants could still go to the Supreme Court to question the procedures adopted by the House of Representatives in dismissing the complaint.
“If they want, they could use as basis why the new complaint was not allowed to be included as an amendment to the original complaint. But as far as the Lower House is concerned, it’s the end of the story. It was dismissed,” Cuenco explained.
Reps. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu Province, 3rd district) and Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu Province, 4th district) agreed that the complaint lacked substance, as established by the House committee on justice.
“There was no reason to oppose, mahimo ming kataw-anan (we’d be the laughingstock) if we insisted,” Salimbangon said in a phone interview yesterday.
Garcia said he found the complaint very weak. “I voted as a lawyer looking at the impeachment complaint, evaluating its merit,” he explained.
At least 24 opposition congressmen did not participate in the voting from 5 to 7 p.m. last Monday.
Rep. Matias Defensor, chairman of the justice committee, reminded all congressmen before the voting to vote according to their conscience.
When asked if they did just that, both Salimbangon and Garcia said the vote was on a technicality and that alliances were immaterial.
Garcia pointed out that even the opposition legislators agreed the complaint was weak.
Of the eight Cebuano lawmakers, Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI was reportedly absent during the voting. (LCR/JGA)
