NOY: CHANGE THE SYSTEM IN OUR GOVT!, LP TAKES STAND TO IMPEACH GUTIERREZ
MANILA, MARCH 8, 2011 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - The Liberal Party (LP) voted yesterday to officially support the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in the House of Representatives after President Aquino reminded lawmakers to "change the system" in government.
Aquino's statement and the consequent stand of his party came on the eve of a crucial and final vote by the House committee on justice tackling the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez.
A coalition of major business and civic groups including the Makati Business Club (MBC), the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and various anti-corruption groups also appealed to Congress to fast-track the impeachment of Gutierrez for the sake of truth and justice.
This developed as Gutierrez answered point by point the allegations raised in the two complaints filed by rival militant groups Akbayan and Bayan in a written rebuttal submitted to the House justice committee last Friday.
Gutierrez is accused of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
The President stressed that the Ombudsman had been given many chances but still failed to speed up the resolution of cases involving those from the past administration.
"So we are at a crossroads. And that is the only thing I want to tell all of you. The Constitution gave you the right. You are the fiscals, let us investigate. Was a sin committed or not? Is there probable cause? If there is probable cause, it is your obligation to file the articles of impeachment, (and) bring it to the Senate," Aquino told his partymates.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said the party stand came after Aquino gave a short talk during a luncheon the latter hosted at the residence of LP president former Sen. Manuel Roxas II in Quezon City attended by about 60 congressmen, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
The LP has 81 members in the House of Representatives.
Aquino arrived at the LP luncheon at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Communications Group Secretary Ricky Carandang, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.
"We got an invitation to have lunch with the President so we came. He spoke about the ongoing impeachment process without mentioning Ombudsman Gutierrez. He said we have a chance to either maintain the system or change the system, and we would be breaking our promise to the people if we are not going to act," Castelo told reporters.
"He's saying that the only way is to support (the impeachment) and he said we owe it the people," he said.
Castelo said after Aquino, the LP chairman, delivered his short speech, Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento stood up and moved that the party adopt the position of the President. The motion was immediately approved.
"The message (of the President) was very clear. There could be no other interpretation. You cannot treat it any other way," Castelo said.
He said that he personally supported the impeachment of the Ombudsman "because it is a chance for her to defend herself in a forum and in a process that is allowed by the Constitution."
House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said there are 81 LP members in the chamber, which means only about 15 more votes in plenary are needed to impeach Gutierrez.
Under the rules, a vote of one-third of the members of the 283-member chamber or 94 lawmakers are needed to impeach an impeachable official and bring the same to stand trial at the Senate.
Aside from the LP, nine militant lawmakers from Akbayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, ACT Teachers and Kabataan are expected to vote to impeach the Ombudsman since they endorsed the two impeachment complaints.
Sources said the Nationalist People's Coalition that has more than 30 members in the House is inclined to vote against the impeachment of Gutierrez. The members of the minority bloc, including Lakas congressmen, would take a conscience vote. The Nacionalista Party still has no party stand on the impeachment of the Ombudsman.
"There is nothing wrong with any political party adopting a stand on impeachment, after all, as the cliché goes, it's a political process, it's a political act," Gonzales said.
Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the justice committee and an LP member, said he would remain impartial in the proceedings.
"The party has taken an official stand this afternoon and definitely, it will affect the numbers for impeachment… but as to the effect to the chairman of committee on justice, my position as chairman, to me is supreme over a party stand," Tupas said.
He said once the panel votes on probable cause today, it can submit a report to the plenary on the impeachment of Gutierrez next week.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, vice chairman of the panel, said he is still hoping that Gutierrez would appear in what could be the last hearing of the committee.
The Ombudsman filed separate documents on Friday before the committee rebutting the various allegations against her. The rebuttal was signed by her legal counsels led by former justice secretary Serafin Cuevas, Anacleto Diaz, and Ma. Rosario del Rosario.
Akbayan alleged that Gutierrez, among others, should be impeached for the low conviction rate of her office; failure to take immediate action against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other officials in connection with the NBN-ZTE broadband project controversy; and for upholding the arrest of former congresswoman Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel.
Bayan accused the Ombudsman of not acting on the P728-million fertilizer scam, and not prosecuting the so-called "Euro generals," among others.
Gutierrez cited, among others, Supreme Court decisions as well as documents from complainants themselves to defend her case.
Fariñas earlier told reporters there is a need to remove the weak allegations in the two complaints.
Gutierrez said the acts and/or omissions alleged as culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust "cannot be deemed of the same nature and severity as the other grounds for impeachment under the Constitution that strike at the very heart of the life of the nation."
She said by law and settled jurisprudence, the Ombudsman has the discretion to determine whether a criminal case given its facts and circumstances should be filed or not.
"Although the Ombudsman has the duty to act promptly on complaints brought before him, such duty should not be mistaken with a hasty resolution of cases at the expense of thoroughness and correctness," Gutierrez said in her reply.
Gutierrez said she is standing by her record of 40 years of unblemished government service, which she intends to keep until her term ends in November 2012.
She said she never violated any law nor did she ever try to use her position to enrich herself.
"I have no sin to our countrymen or in the eyes of God, I'm not corrupt. I am not enriching myself in this position," she told radio dzBB.
Gutierrez said she intends to finish her term, leaving behind a legacy of having the highest conviction rate compared to her predecessors and more than 35,000 cases disposed.
Coalition against corruption
[PHOTO - The Coalition Against Corruption (CAC) is an alliance of the academe, business sector, civil society organizations, and Church that fights corruption. Launched on 21 September 2004, its mission is to implement and support counter-corruption projects in the area of procurement reforms and delivery of essential public services.]
The Coalition Against Corruption is composed of the MBC, MAP, the Ateneo School of Government, Bishops-Businessmen's Conference for Human Development, CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice, and Peace, Caucus of Development NGO Networks, Dilaab Foundation, National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections, Transparency and Accountability Network, Christian Life Community of the Philippines, NGO/PO Caucus for Development, Inc., Negrenses4NoynoyMovement, Oroquieta City Coalition Against Corruption, TANCSDI Dapitan, Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), INCITEGov, PNoyPinay and the Anti-Graft and Transparency Advocate of Surigao Inc.
"Two years ago we said that our country needs an Ombudsman who is a skilled administrator, a committed public defender, a staunch protector of whistleblowers and victims of corruption, a paragon of independence and integrity, and a sentinel of justice. After six years in office, Gutierrez has failed to show that she embodies these qualities," the group said.
The coalition said that the Ombudsman is accused again of unreasonable failure to take prompt action on a wide variety of corruption cases.
"At this point, the impeachment process is the only opportunity she has to prove her accusers wrong or to face the consequences of her betrayal and incompetence," the group said.
The coalition said the employees of the Office
of the Ombudsman and the legislators must protect the best interests of the people and not their own vested interests.
"They must send a clear message to the public that they will not tolerate erring public officials. If they fail us again, we believe the Filipinos would rise up to demand a trustworthy, capable, and credible Ombudsman who will genuinely serve the people and not the powerful," the group said.
* Ombudsman's spokesman hits House
Lawyer Salvador Panelo, spokesman for Gutierrez, accused members of the House committee on justice yesterday of acting out of "political vendetta" in the effort to impeach her.
He said the very principles of democracy are being trampled upon by how the impeachment process is proceeding with haste and without due process of law.
"The voting result is a foregone conclusion," he told The STAR, referring to how the justice committee is expected to vote today on whether or not there is probable cause to impeach Gutierrez.
Panelo said lawmakers proceeded with undisguised indecent haste with the impeachment proceedings even though the Supreme Court ruling dismissing Gutierrez's petition to stop the House impeachment proceedings is not yet final pending the appeal filed by the Ombudsman.
And since there are congressmen who have pending cases before the Office of the Ombudsman who have not inhibited themselves in participating in the process out of delicadeza, Panelo said the House panel's actions validate the reasonable conclusion that the House is hell-bent on impeaching her.
Panelo said the evident denial of giving constitutional due process to Gutierrez "leaves a bad taste in the mouth which is anathema to the tenets of democracy."
Members of the Ombudsman Employees Association (OMBEA) have expressed their support for Gutierrez.
OMBEA president Harry Ravelo led more than a hundred personnel, wearing white, in declaring their support for their boss by converging in front of the agency's Central Office in Quezon City.
Assistant Ombudsman and official spokesman Jose de Jesus Jr. said Gutierrez is still hoping that members of the House of Representatives will see the light.
He said Gutierrez, who was surprised by yesterday's activity, appreciates the support extended by the anti-graft agency's employees.
Fariñas said Gutierrez could be banking on the votes of at least eight senators.
Fariñas was reacting to Gutierrez's declaration that she is ready to face a Senate trial and that she was confident she would be cleared of the impeachment charges the House would most likely file against her.
At least two senators have already publicly commented on the Gutierrez case. Sen. Francis Pangilinan has urged the Ombudsman to resign, while Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has claimed that the charges against Gutierrez were weak.
Fariñas said Gutierrez enjoyed "immunity from investigation" during the Arroyo administration because "she had the numbers" in Congress.
"Now, she knows she doesn't have those numbers in the House. That's why she calls our proceedings as moro-moro," he said.
More farmers set to testify
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) secretary-general Danilo Ramos said more farmers would come out to testify against Gutierrez regarding the inaction of the Ombudsman on the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.
"We are politically prepared and agitated to have a face-to-face encounter with Ombudsman Gutierrez," Ramos said.
He said peasant leaders and witnesses from Panay Island, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and other parts of the country have signified their intention to testify once the Senate transforms itself into an impeachment court for the trial of Ombudsman Gutierrez.
The KMP, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and peasant women federation Amihan filed a plunder complaint in June 2004 against former President Arroyo, former agriculture secretary Luisito Lorenzo and former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante in connection with the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, which they said was used to fund the presidential campaign of Arroyo in the May 2004 elections.
The first plunder and criminal complaint filed by Pamalakaya at the Office of the Ombudsman was on Feb. 14, 2006 concerning the issue of the Rapu-Rapu oil spill in Albay in 2005, the offshore mining in Tañon Strait and the distribution of more than 4,000 environmental compliance certificates by then Environment secretary Michael Defensor in 2005.
The second plunder complaint filed by Pamalakaya against Arroyo and former agriculture secretary Arthur Yap was done on Jan. 6 last year in connection with the overpriced procurement of 98 ice-making machines amounting to P455-million worth of taxpayers' money. With Michael Punongbayan, Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, Rhodina Villanueva, Ma. Elisa Osorio
'Palace: No need for Aquino to back impeach move vs Merci' By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated March 03, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (9) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - There is no need for President Aquino to call on his allies at the House of Representatives to support the impeachment moves against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, a Malacañang official said yesterday.
"Probably there is no need for that since the pulse of the people is clear on the matter and we have already said that we support the impeachment," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in Filipino.
She also emphasized that "the President is always in communication with his allies."
Quoting the President, Valte said Gutierrez had been a roadblock in this administration's campaign against corruption in government, particularly officials of the previous government under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"What we said yesterday is that given the developments in the House, being the head of a constitutionally independent office, she (Gutierrez) should start weighing her options," Valte, a lawyer by profession, said. "It is within her discretion to decide which among those options she is going to chose."
Valte said that Gutierrez's claim that she is a victim of political harassment "is her own opinion."
"No pun intended but she is going to put herself in the middle of the constitutional process if she intends to fight it out," she pointed out, serving notice of the dire consequences Gutierrez may face, like an impeachment trial in the Senate.
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