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The House
of Representatives agreed last night to allow the "creeping"
impeachment process sought by opposition congressmen in their effort to
oust President Arroyo.
The
"creeping" impeachment refers to the gradual gathering of
signatures to reach the required number of 79 House members, or
one-third of the House, needed to send the amended impeachment complaint
against Mrs. Arroyo to the Senate for trial.
Such a
procedure is outlined in the impeachment rules of the 11th Congress,
which the House adopted last night. It was during the 11th Congress that
former President Joseph Estrada was impeached in 2001.
Deputy
Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano moved for the adoption of the rules
on the part of the minority.
After
consulting with Majority Leader Prospero Nograles and other House
officials, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who was sponsoring the draft rules
for the present 13th Congress, accepted Cayetano’s motion.
Minority
Leader Francis Escudero told reporters that the minority took the
initiative to propose the adoption of the impeachment rules of the 11th
Congress to end the acrimonious debates on the draft rules for the 13th
Congress.
"With
the decision, we can now tackle our amended impeachment complaint
against Mrs. Arroyo in the committee on justice. We hope we can begin
doing that early next week," he said.
Responding
to questions, Nograles said the majority accepted the minority’s
proposal for the adoption of the old rules to show the people that
"we are not favoring the accused, who is the President."
"The
opposition kept harping that the rules on which we started floor debates
last week had been tailor-fit for the President. To do away with these
debates, we decided to go along with what the minority wants," he
said.
He
pointed out that the old rules and the new draft rules "are not
substantially different."
Nograles
said a creeping impeachment will be allowed "but unlike in the 11th
Congress, the committee on justice will have to submit its report and
voting will have to be done in plenary."
He said
in 2000, then Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. made a "shortcut" by
not waiting for the justice committee report and speedily transmitting
the complaint against then President Estrada when the petitioners had
obtained 77 signatures.
Some 42
members of the minority, congressmen belonging to the Liberal Party and
party-list representatives have endorsed the amended impeachment
complaint.
According
to San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, who heads the opposition’s
impeachment team, as of last weekend, 10 more signatures had been
obtained, for a total of 52. This is still 27 shy of the necessary 79
signatures.
Cayetano
said once they have 79 signatures, "there will be no more wrangling
on legal technicalities and the House will be under tremendous pressure
from the people to transmit the complaint to the Senate for trial.
"We
hope to send the amended complaint to the Senate. If the President has
nothing to hide, she should be willing to face a trial," he said.
Parañaque
Rep. Roilo Golez, one of those who signed the amended complaint, said
the adoption of the impeachment rules "is a major victory for the
impeachment drive against the President."
"Once
the 79 signatures are obtained, no one — not the committee on justice,
not the majority leader, not the Speaker, not the majority — can stop
the transmittal of the complaint to the Senate," he said.
Cayetano
said it is only in an impeachment case that one-third or less than
majority of House members overrides the will of the remaining
two-thirds.
"That
is intended to insulate an impeachment complaint from possible
manipulation by the majority and send it expeditiously to trial,"
he said.
Over the
weekend, Sen. Joker Arroyo, who was a member of the House panel that
prosecuted Estrada in his Senate trial in 2001, hinted that Mrs. Arroyo
would do all she could to block the amended impeachment complaint in the
House.
He said,
unlike in the case of Estrada who had relied on his Senate allies, the
House is Mrs. Arroyo’s "first and only line of defense."
He urged
Escudero and his opposition colleagues to breach that defense by
gathering the needed 79 signatures.
Palace:
GMA won’t take leave of absence By Paolo Romero The Philippine Star
08/02/2005
Malacañang
rejected yesterday calls from the opposition for President Arroyo to
take a leave of absence as serious allegations against her and her
administration were already hampering her governance.
In
separate interviews, Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Gabriel
Claudio and Presidential Management Staff head Rigoberto Tiglao said
such demands were ridiculous since none of the allegations are true.
"That
(leave of absence) is not acceptable. There is no reason for the
President to take that leave. She maintains the position that the
allegations against her are false and they will be addressed soon enough
at the proper time and in the proper forum," Claudio said.
He said
the impeachment proceedings being readied in the House would clarify all
the issues raised against Mrs. Arroyo.
"We’re
looking forward to establishing the truth (about) all the allegations
against her," Claudio said.
Under the
Constitution, the President would make a written declaration to the
Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he
or she was unable to discharge the duties of the office. The Vice
President would then take over as acting president until the President
submits another formal written notice to the contrary.
The
opposition has called on Mrs. Arroyo to take a leave of absence saying
she was no longer capable of governing since she is too preoccupied
fending off allegations against her and her administration.
Tiglao
said the opposition is trying to project the Arroyo administration as
beleaguered and no longer capable of taking charge.
"They
want to project the government as not governing but (too) busy putting
out fires but that’s very far from the truth," Tiglao said.
He
pointed out the Cabinet meeting scheduled for today would not focus on
political issues at all, but rather on the implementation of various
programs including moves to decongest Metro Manila and fast-track the
North Rail project.
He said
the opposition was now employing media experts to attack the government
with totally false allegations.
Tiglao
said the opposition should simply channel their allegations against Mrs.
Arroyo into the impeachment process, which is the proper venue for them.
MANILA,
August 2, 2005 (STAR) By Jess Diaz |
