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Saturday, November 08, 2003
No Constitutional crisis on Monday: Arroyo
* Prayer-rally for peace, reconciliation set Saturday; politicians won't be allowed to speak
* Arroyo to stop criminal conspiracy to use impeachment crisis to grab power from gov't
A SENATOR believes that a constitutional crisis will not happen on Monday as the House of Representatives is hell-bent on transmitting the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. to the Senate on that day.
This, as a massive prayer-rally for peace and reconciliation is set at the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park Saturday.
President Arroyo, meanwhile, said she will thwart any move to use the impeachment crisis to grab power from her administration.
Congressmen will transmit the Articles of Impeachment against Davide when Congress resumes session on Monday. Davide is accused of misusing the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).
Once it is sent to the Senate, the Upper Chamber will constitute itself into an impeachment court and try Davide on the charges against him.
Sen. Joker Arroyo said the public need not worry about a constitutional crisis because, according to him, the scenario would not happen on Monday.
In a press briefing, Arroyo said that the public has been made to believe that Nov. 10 would be D-Day if the Supreme Court does not resolve the constitutionality of the impeachment complaint against Davide.
'It's unfortunate that we were made to believe that there will be a constitutional crisis. I don't think so. The picture does not look that way," Arroyo said.
According to him, whatever action the House of Representatives would do on Monday, the Senate would still be the decision-making body in the issue.
He explained that the Senate would decide whether it would constitute itself into an impeachment court. The senator also added that the Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of the impeachment complaint is essential for the Senate before deciding to begin the impeachment trial.
'We will have to discuss that in plenary and we will have to discuss that thoroughly, so I don't think anything will be resolved by Monday because I'm sure there would be a long debate over that in the House," Arroyo added.
Citing the Martial Law scenario, Arroyo said public should not worry about the crisis since the issue is not considered as a matter of life or death.
He said Senate President Franklin Drilon would first get the pulse of the other senators in a scheduled caucus in which legislators would discuss whether they would constitute as an impeachment court.
But in an earlier interview, Sen. Serge Osmeņa III predicted that majority of the senators would not allow the impeachment trial to go on because the second complaint is unconstitutional.
Arroyo has assured supporters of Davide that if the Senate would receive the Articles of Impeachment, the senators would not act on it immediately because they have to wait for the SC rulings.
"That's why we'll have a caucus on Monday. That's a lot of talk. To begin with the House will not transmit it because they are divided over it," Arroyo said.
On the other hand, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the Lower House can still reconsider its impeachment move if it suffers from serious flaws.
He added that if such error was committed, it could be corrected by the House while the matter is still in their hands or before the Articles of Impeachment are transmitted to the impeachment court.
Prayer-rally
No politician, not even President Arroyo, will be allowed to speak during a prayer-rally for peace and resolution of the impasse between the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives over the impeachment of Davide.
The El Shaddai is initiating the prayer-rally Saturday at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.
"No politicians would be allowed to speak in the rally even verbal prayer would be disallowed," Servant leader Bro. Mike Velarde said.
Velarde said they will not allow the participation of politicians to protect the sanctity of the mass gathering, whose purpose is to pray for peace and reconciliation.
Mel Robles, spokesman of Velarde, said Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose De Venecia have already confirmed their attendance in the prayer-rally.
But Davide will not attending the rally because of previous commitments.
"The Chief Justice will be sending a representative," Robles said.
Aside from Davide, the organizers of the prayer-rally have not yet received any notice from President Arroyo that she will attend nor is there any word from former president Joseph Estrada.
When asked who among the congressmen who initiated the impeachment complaint against Davide have confirmed their participation to the prayer rally, Robles said no one among them have been invited.
Robles however said, "It's an open invitation and they are welcome so we are hoping that they will be present."
The activity will start at 5 p.m. with Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla as main celebrant of the mass. Capalla is the new president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The highlight of the event will be on Sunday morning when representatives from various sectors will read messages, prayers and expectations from the Supreme Court justices and from congressmen pushing for the impeachment of Davide.
Over 1 million people from different organizations and sectors are expected to attend the prayer-rally to be headed by the Council of the Laity of the Philippines and EL Shaddai.
Representatives from the labor and business sectors and other religious denominations are also among the participants, Robles said.
Warning
President Arroyo said she will stop any criminal conspiracy to turn the impeachment crisis into an illegitimate bid for political power.
She refused to talk about a Plan B because it might lead to the failure of a proposed covenant she submitted to Congress to help resolve the stalemate between the House of Representatives and the SC over the impeachment of Davide.
She earlier said her proposed covenant is not yet dead as leaders of the House of Representatives are trying to introduce amendments that would make it acceptable to the pro-impeachment solons. JPM/Marie Neri/ST
(November 8, 2003 issue)
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