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Thursday, September 07, 2006
Arroyos want lawmaker out of House over German account claim
MANILA -- After failing to make opposition Representative Alan Peter Cayetano admit his mistake and apologize to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, the Arroyos want the legislator ousted from the House of Representatives.
Cayetano claims the existence of a multimillion-dollar account maintained by the Arroyos in a German bank.
First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, presidential son and Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and presidential brother-in-law Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo filed a complaint before the House committee on ethics.
They submitted their 22-page complaint at the office of House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles.
The complaint was filed a day after Cayetano, in a privilege speech, answered the remarks made on national television by the President asking him to apologize over his baseless accusation about the First Family having a multimillion-dollar account in a German bank.
The Arroyos have reportedly been reconsidering not to file any complaint against the Taguig-Pateros congressman if he had said sorry, but Cayetano was far from being apologetic for what he did.
Nograles said the complaint filed by the Arroyo family will be immediately endorsed to the House committee on ethics. He assured Cayetano of a fair trial.
But Nograles stressed that the complaint was not only filed by the First Gentleman but by two other members of Congress as well.
"We execute this complaint for the purpose of initiating disciplinary proceedings against Representative Alan Peter Cayetano of the lone district of Taguig-Pateros and ultimately for his expulsion from the House of Representatives of the 13th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines," the Arroyos said in the complaint.
The Arroyos accused the congressman of allegedly violating the Revised Penal Code and for allegedly engaging in improper conduct. These, once proven, would warrant his expulsion from the House, they added.
They challenged the congressman to save face and that of the integrity of the entire House of Representatives by resigning from his post. This, they added, would spare the House of inconvenience.
"Imagine, he even lied and fabricated even against his own colleagues -- my son, Juan Miguel Arroyo, and my brother, Ignacio Arroyo," the First Gentleman said during a press conference.
What Cayetano did, which the First Gentleman described as "really bad behavior," should not be tolerated by the members of the 13th Congress even if he himself a colleague of the complainants.
He also explained that he and his family filed the complaint because the congressman maligned them not only in the halls of Congress but also in media "that is why they have sued him with libel".
"It's unbecoming of a congressman to do such. He gave us a bad name," the Negros Occidental congressman said.
For his part, Mikey said they were compelled to file the complaint against Cayetano as this would be the only way to clear their names.
"Hopefully next time he does not besmirch the reputations of his peers without proof. It is really painful," the Pampanga congressman said.
"It would be an embarrassment to our countrymen if we don't protect ourselves," he added.
The First Gentleman said the First Family had to endure accusations in the past about maintaining secret accounts locally, including that of Jose Pidal. But the new accusation made by the opposition congressman was already too much and they could not just take it sitting down.
Since the First Gentleman himself brought up the issue of other accounts including the Pidal account, a reporter asked him to comment on this. He however refused and said they should not deal with it.
He also ignored another reporter's question asking his comment on Cayetano's claim that he would present evidence regarding the controversial account.
During the press conference, eight administration congressmen accompanied the Arroyos to the press conference to show their support. Among them were Representatives Eduardo Veloso of Leyte, Benasing Macarambon of Lanao del Sur, Raul Gonzalez Jr. of Iloilo City, Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija and Danilo Suarez of Quezon.
Some members of the minority bloc have expressed fear for Cayetano because the Arroyos have a big influence over the House. But Nograles said Cayetano can be assured of fair play during the hearing on the case at the ethics committee.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said Cayetano has to face the charges filed against him.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo broke her silence on the matter upon the advice of her family that she should openly deny the allegations. He said President Arroyo was told that the First Family's silence could be interpreted as an admission that the allegations are true.
Romulo Macalintal, the President's lawyer, maintained that the burden of proof rests on Cayetano. (DBP/JMR/Sunnex)
(September 7, 2006 issue)
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