|
Thursday, November 27, 2008
4th impeach rap vs Arroyo junked
MANILA -- Allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives dismissed on Wednesday the fourth impeachment complaint filed against her despite a former ally's testimony linking her to some irregularities.
Voting 42-8, the panel chaired by Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor dismissed the complaint after members of the minority bloc failed to prove that they have met the legal requirement for substance.
What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers
Opposition leaders, however, vowed to try to impeach her again in 2009 - a year before her term ends - and some warned of other options, including a nonviolent "people power" revolt, to remove her from office.
"The hearse of exhumed carcasses must be led back to the graveyard," Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said in his summation or the majority bloc's arguments.
Lagman, the leader of the majority bloc's debate panel, said the complaint's "recycled and rehashed grounds are already barred by res judicata or prior judgments in previous impeachment cases."
He added that the grounds cited were not recital of facts but a "compendium of conclusions of law and fact, implications, innuendoes and presumptions, all bereft of the requisite ultimate facts."
Impeachment charges have been filed against President Arroyo since 2005. The 97-page ouster complaint of businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, son of former House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., and civil society groups led by the Black and White Movement was just the fourth of these complaints.
'Numerical superiority'
De Venecia Jr., in a media interview, whined of the majority bloc's use of their "numerical superiority" in dismissing the latest complaint against the President.
"The script ends," he told reporters.
He said what the Defensor panel threw out was a "solid" complaint unlike its "bogus" predecessors like the one filed by Pulido last year, which insulated Arroyo against a legitimate impeachment complaint for a year.
A plenary vote of 79 or one-third of the House membership is enough to reverse the committee's decision and send the complaint to the Senate for trial. "(It's) possible but improbable," he said.
He noted that the complaint's proponents and the minority bloc will first find out how the people will react to the dismissal. "We'll take a look at public opinion," he said.
Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said the President's allies erred in dismissing the complaint because they deprived her of the right to answer the allegations.
He warned the President that the people will be the one to judge her based on her allies' actions.
Unsurprising
Catholic bishops, meanwhile, were not surprised at all on the Congress' decision in getting rid of the fourth impeachment complaint against the President.
Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said they already anticipated that the case will not prosper since the day it was filed.
However, Lagdameo said the lawmakers' decision will not stop them from searching the truth.
Other bishops, namely: Pedro Quitorio, Martin Jumoad, Pedro Arigo, and Oscar Cruz, echoed the statement of Lagdameo.
According to them, they already know that the complaint was bound to be junked, considering the allies of the administration dominate the Lower House.
Unity
Speaker Prospero Nograles, on the other hand, commended both members of the majority and minority "for having maintained maturity and civility during the proceedings, although there were times that emotions nearly overwhelmed reason."
Malacañang officials also welcomed the dismissal of the impeachment complaint, asking everyone to respect and accept the decision.
"We welcome the decision of the committee on justice of the House of Representatives," deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it is better to just respect the outcome of the voting in the House reiterating that the executive branch had no hand in the developments.
Ermita said Malacañang would just continue with its work, adding that they were never distracted even when the complaint was filed.
He urged government critics to refrain from encouraging the people to mass up and launch another people power following the junking of the impeachment complaint.
Ermita said instead of talking about massing up in the streets, the public should be asked to be sober and to even calm down.
He added that the latest impeachment complaint had been transparent, televised and followed the proper procedures, dismissing any need to mass up. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (November 27, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
No Filipinos reported wounded in Mumbai attacks