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Thursday, October 27, 2005
Palace man tears people’s court notice for Arroyo
MANILA -- Malacañang received Wednesday afternoon the "notice of proceedings" sent by the Citizens' Congress for Truth and Accountability (CCTA) informing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the start of deliberations on the various charges against her.
Emerito Magdangal, executive assistant at the Office of Press Undersecretary Robert Rivera, met with representatives of the congress that included human rights lawyer Romeo Capulong, former Human Rights Commission member Nasser Marohomssalic, and Caloocan City Councilor Nathaniel Santiago to receive the complaint.
After receiving the notice and leaving the group, Magdangal tore up the document, threw it to the ground as he walked back to Malacañang and street sweepers immediately picked it up and threw it in the trash.
The notice of proceedings served as an invitation to President Arroyo to attend the deliberations and defend herself from the various charges leveled against her.
President Arroyo was in Cebu Wednesday attending the grand opening of the Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa and checking on government projects.
Magdangal's meeting with representatives of the congress took place at the Chino Roces bridge in front of a fast-food chain near Malacañang palace at around 1:30 p.m. Anti-riot police had blocked congress members from further proceeding to Malacañang.
The police, mostly women and all wearing blue hard hats, were detailed between the entrances to the Colleges of the Holy Spirit and La Consolacion. The police wore hard hats after sustaining injuries in the head during last Friday's rally dispersal.
A team of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), all in urban camouflage and carrying high-powered firearms, were detailed behind the Mendiola gates as the meeting took place.
Asked why he tore up the documents, Magdangal said "kalokohan nga e (it's a farce)."
Magdangal, who was met by Rivera near the entrance of the College of the Holy Spirit after receiving the documents, branded the action of the congress as nonsense.
Rivera, in greeting some media members, said "tao ko iyan" (he is my man) while referring to Magdangal.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Magdangal had done what he did because he felt that the notice had no basis legal basis.
"Alam naman po natin na base sa ating kaalaman ukol sa ating Saligang Batas, iyung papel po na iniabot sa akin ay walang basehang legal at walang kuwenta. Dagdag pasikip lang po ito sa mga files at dahil walang kuwenta, nararapat lang na ibasura (We all know and based on my knowledge of the Constitution, the paper that they gave me had no legal basis and was useless. It will just add to our files and because it is useless, it is best to just throw it away)," Magdangal said in a text message to Bunye that he forwarded to the media.
Capulong said Magdangal's action was "rude, unbecoming, and uncalled for."
"It's not in the interest of his principal, Mrs. Arroyo and the Filipino people just to act like that. Hindi naman biru-biro ang undertaking na ito (This undertaking is no joke). Itong complaint na ito (This complaint) is overwhelmingly supported based on what I was hearing this morning by our people, they want to know the truth dapat (so) they should dignify it," he added.
Capulong said Malacañang should have received and read the document and later decided on their course of action instead of tearing it up without even reading its contents. He said the Palace could even send its written reply on whether it would participate or send a representative to the first hearing on November 8 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Theater in Diliman, Quezon City.
The members of the CCTA, however, were able to file the notice with the Malacañang Records Section while their officials were meeting with Magdangal.
The Records Section located at the Mabini Hall received the notice at around 2:30 p.m. and even bar-coded the document.
Staff at the Records Sections said they would forward the notice to the Office of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who would decide on what they would do with the complaint. They said they have not received instructions to refuse acceptance of the notice.
The notice said the alternative body was formed to deliberate on the unresolved issues hounding the President to determine the truth and hold her accountable.
The body has also asked Arroyo to answer, either through her lawyers or her representatives, the charges against her in the amended impeachment complaints that were rejected by the House of Representatives, such as for alleged electoral fraud in 2001, alleged graft and corruption violations and inclusion of members of the First Family in jueteng payola, and alleged human rights violations.
The congress said it would also hear concerns on the administration's calibrated preemptive response, the issuance of Executive Order 464 which prohibits officials from attending congressional inquiries without Arroyo's consent, and the rescinded contract with the Venable LLP, among others.
Bunye said the creation of the "kangaroo court" is pure and simple "media gimmickry.
"This is truly tasteless entertainment. It is a mockery of the justice system and the institutions that have already laid to rest the issues they are trying to resurrect instead of wasting their energies on this futile pursuit," he said.
Bunye also asked the President's detractors to devote their time and energy in helping the government find ways and means to improve the economy and the quality of life of the Filipino people instead.
Presidential adviser for political affairs Gabriel Claudio in a telephone interview said the people's congress is aimed at duplicating and eventually negating the work of Congress that earlier junked the impeachment complaint against the President.
Claudio said unlike Congress, however, the people's congress does not have the people's mandate and there is no constitutional or legal basis for the creation of the body.
He added that those heading the group, like former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., have also already decided the case against the President.
"(These) are the same groups or individuals who have already passed judgment on the President or her moral capacity to continue as President of the Philippines. So these are the same individuals who called for the resignation of the President. I don't think we can expect a fair and a judicious trial out of this particular exercise. Ang tingin natin dito (We see this) as nothing more than a political gimmick," Claudio said.
He added that Malacañang would not act on the notice from the group "because it has no legal and political basis." (JMR/Sunnex)
(October 27, 2005 issue)
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