i Report Issue No. 3 2005 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...
i Report Issue No. 3 2005 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...
i Report Issue No. 3 2005 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...
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LIGHTS,<br />
CAMERA,<br />
IMPEACHMENT!<br />
ALECKS P. PABICO<br />
as<br />
WW H E N<br />
MILLIONS<br />
of Filipinos<br />
were glued<br />
to their TV<br />
s e t s d u r -<br />
ing the impeachment<br />
trial of President<br />
Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada almost<br />
five years ago, the leader on the<br />
dock was decidedly even more<br />
colorful than the characters he<br />
used to portray in his old action<br />
flicks. In terms of sheer showbiz<br />
value, the Estrada impeachment<br />
did not disappoint.<br />
The opposition today says an<br />
impeachment trial starring President<br />
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo<br />
would also be the best show in<br />
town. But all they are eliciting<br />
so far are yawns. It’s not just<br />
because Arroyo as a subject is a<br />
bit of a snore or even that we’ve<br />
all been there and done that.<br />
More than anything else, it has<br />
just become too obvious that the<br />
opposition has yet to get its act<br />
together. Many also find themselves<br />
overpowered by a sense of<br />
moral ambiguity at the sight of an<br />
opposition cast of characters that<br />
includes the “usual suspects,” that<br />
is, politicians who are perceived,<br />
rightly or wrongly, to be at least<br />
villainous as the person they<br />
are trying to impeach.<br />
Throw in enough legal questions<br />
and gobbledygook to slow<br />
the process and you might just<br />
as well turn off all the lights and<br />
send everyone home.<br />
The administration’s gameplan<br />
is quite obvious. Unlike in<br />
Estrada’s case where he had the<br />
numbers in the Senate to block his<br />
conviction, Arroyo is not assured<br />
of such a balance of <strong>for</strong>ces in the<br />
current composition of the upper<br />
chamber to snare an acquittal <strong>for</strong><br />
herself. Hence, the impeachment<br />
promises to be a fierce battle over<br />
technicalities to be fought in the<br />
arena of the House.<br />
But the opposition in the<br />
House insists the show will go<br />
on, even though its “creeping”<br />
impeachment complaint is at<br />
a standstill at the moment. It<br />
has even begun picking who<br />
among its legislators could be<br />
part of the House prosecution<br />
panel, which it has decided will<br />
be headed by San Juan Rep. Ronaldo<br />
Zamora. And of course it<br />
insists that there were only two<br />
complaints filed, one of which<br />
has already been withdrawn.<br />
NOT ONCE, BUT<br />
THRICE?<br />
Political analyst Ramon Casiple<br />
of the Institute <strong>for</strong> Political and<br />
Electoral Re<strong>for</strong>m (IPER) says he<br />
had this sneaking suspicion early<br />
on that the issue of multiple<br />
complaints would be brought<br />
up, since there is a Supreme<br />
Court ruling that allows only<br />
one impeachment case against<br />
impeachable public officials in<br />
a year. He was proved right;<br />
the question regarding “three”<br />
impeachment complaints has<br />
been raised.<br />
The first impeachment complaint<br />
against Arroyo was filed<br />
by Marcos lawyer Oliver Lozano<br />
on June 27. This later evolved<br />
into the amended complaint<br />
filed by the minority and initially<br />
endorsed by 41 congressmen<br />
when the 13th Congress<br />
opened <strong>for</strong> its second regular<br />
session on July 25. The amended<br />
complaint expanded on Lozano’s<br />
lone charge of betrayal<br />
of public trust arising from Arroyo’s<br />
alleged taped conversations<br />
to include two other impeachable<br />
grounds—culpable<br />
violations of the Constitution,<br />
and bribery and graft and corruption.<br />
Among the charges under<br />
these grounds are:<br />
• undermining the independence<br />
of the Commission on<br />
Elections (Comelec),<br />
•-cover-up of evidence of<br />
electoral fraud,<br />
• overpricing of the <strong>No</strong>rth<br />
Rail and Piatco airport terminal<br />
projects,<br />
• releasing Philhealth cards<br />
and use of other government<br />
funds <strong>for</strong> electioneering,<br />
• benefiting from jueteng<br />
payoffs,<br />
• hiding real estate in the<br />
United States, and<br />
• complicity in the murder of<br />
political activists.<br />
On July 5, a second complaint<br />
also accusing Arroyo of<br />
betraying the public trust was<br />
filed by a private citizen, lawyer<br />
Jose Rizaldo Lopez, and was endorsed<br />
by Palawan Rep. Antonio<br />
Alvarez of the Lakas-CMD. It<br />
has since been withdrawn, but<br />
now the amended complaint is<br />
being considered as a separate<br />
or third complaint. That’s because<br />
Alagad party-list Rep. Rodante<br />
Marcoleta, who endorsed<br />
the Lozano complaint, says he<br />
was not consulted about the<br />
amendments.<br />
Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico,<br />
however, argues, “An endorser<br />
does not become the complainant<br />
by his mere endorsement.<br />
As such, he acquires no rights<br />
over the complaint. His prior<br />
consent need not be obtained<br />
if the complainant (Lozano)<br />
desires to amend the original<br />
complaint.”<br />
“CREEPING” COMPLAINT<br />
QUESTIONED<br />
But whether or not the amendments<br />
should be considered a<br />
separate complaint is only one<br />
in a growing list of legal issues<br />
pro-administration lawmakers<br />
have put on the table. Another<br />
concerns the “creeping” impeachment<br />
adopted by the opposition<br />
and which was also the<br />
route taken by those who had<br />
pushed <strong>for</strong> the impeachment<br />
of President Estrada in 2000.<br />
At the time, fewer than 20 congressmen<br />
filed the complaint<br />
against Estrada. Once it had the<br />
needed number of signatories,<br />
though, then House Speaker<br />
(now Senator) Manuel Villar<br />
Jr. immediately transmitted the<br />
articles of impeachment to the<br />
Senate without waiting <strong>for</strong> the<br />
report of the justice committee.<br />
When it was filed, the<br />
amended impeachment complaint<br />
against Arroyo had only<br />
41 congressmen endorsing it.<br />
As of this writing, it has 10 more<br />
signatories. But now some lawmakers<br />
like Davao Rep. Prospero<br />
<strong>No</strong>grales say the rules do not<br />
24 PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM I REPORT