MANILA, MARCH 11, 2011 (STAR) By Aurea Calica, Michael Punongbayan, Paolo Romero - The ouster of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is expected to set the stage for the filing of criminal charges against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some of her officials, Malacañang said yesterday.
But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda stressed that impeaching Gutierrez was not just about running after Arroyo.
"We have already stated that (Gutierrez) is an obstacle to reforms. The fear of filing a case before the Office of the Ombudsman, like what happened in the Garcia case – a case which seemed to be so strong has been so diluted that it was reduced to a plea bargain," Lacierda told reporters.
He was referring to former military comptroller Carlos Garcia whose plunder case may be downgraded to direct bribery as part of a plea bargaining deal with the Ombudsman's prosecutors.
In the deal, Garcia will return only P130 million of the more than P300 million he allegedly plundered.
"What we want to file before the Office of the Ombudsman is a strong case that will go forward to be prosecuted successfully. We have the apprehension that the case we will be filing before the incumbent Ombudsman will be diluted and diminished in substance," Lacierda said.
Lacierda said they would not only be focusing on Arroyo but on "clearing all the landmines."
"Let me clarify, this is not about GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo). This is about clearing all the landmines. This is the promise of the President. Remember, when we came to office, there were plenty of landmines. There were so many corrupt acts which were not resolved. We have found these corrupt practices, we have uncovered plenty and we are going to file the necessary cases against those relevant, pertinent officials but with an Ombudsman who, we believe, will carry out the mandate of that particular office," Lacierda said.
Lacierda said the Garcia plea bargaining agreement was not the only case that drove the President to support the impeachment of Gutierrez.
As a former senator, Lacierda said the President participated in the hearings on the fertilizer fund scam and the national broadband network deal, both of which the Ombudsman failed to act on speedily despite substantial evidence gathered by the Senate.
No hindrance
Lacierda also said he does not see the Senate becoming a hindrance to the impeachment of Gutierrez despite pronouncements from some senators that they can only convene as an impeachment court after the congressional break in May.
He said they were expecting the House of Representatives and the Senate to follow the constitutional processes.
Lacierda also said Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Gutierrez's lawyers should read the Constitution to know that impeachment is really a political process and the President is free to air his sentiments about it.
"It's both legal and political. Anywhere you go, impeachment is a process of removing constitutional officials. It's always been decided by commentators that it is a political process. Certainly, we have to abide by the legal procedures, legal requirements, and that is what the (House) justice committee did," Lacierda said.
"To say that legalities were disrespected was not true. The House gave Ombudsman Gutierrez more than five months. They were given a (status quo ante order by the Supreme Court), they were given enough time to study, they were given enough time to anticipate the possibility that the decision would be adverse to them. They failed to prepare for that decision," he said.
Not proof of guilt
Gutierrez's legal counsel, meanwhile, said the House justice's committee's finding of probable cause to impeach her as well as the Supreme Court's ruling with finality against her motion to stop the impeachment process won't establish her guilt or innocence.
"The Supreme Court's denial of the motion for reconsideration merely resolves the issue of whether or not the impeachment proceedings could proceed even if two complaints were filed within a year," lawyer Salvador Panelo said.
"The committee on justice voting on the existence of probable cause is obviously partisan and expected. The majority members ran true to form following their politics of vengeance," he said.
Panelo noted that the grounds cited for Gutierrez's impeachment do not amount to betrayal of the public trust or culpable violation of the Constitution.
The charges against the Ombudsman stemmed from her alleged failure or refusal to act on big cases like the P728-million fertilizer fund scam and the botched $329-million NBN-ZTE deal.
Come clean
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers want their colleagues in the House of Representatives to come clean and declare if they or their relatives have pending cases with the Ombudsman.
House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said members of the justice committee with pending cases should have inhibited from Tuesday's deliberations during which they found probable cause to impeach Gutierrez. "But inhibition is a personal matter," Lagman said.
The plenary is expected to vote before March 25 whether or not to impeach Gutierrez and make her stand trial in the Senate. The affirmative vote of 94 lawmakers or one-third of the members of the House is needed to impeach the Ombudsman.
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said "while we cannot force our colleagues to inhibit, I think it would be good if we have full disclosure if we have pending cases or our relatives have pending cases before the Office of the Ombudsman."
Meanwhile, Mrs. Arroyo's son Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and brother-in-law Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo said they do not need Gutierrez to shield them from prosecution for alleged misdeeds.
"What GMA (Arroyo's initials) needs as does any Filipino citizen is a fair court wherein the rules of evidence are used in determining innocence or guilt," Mikey Arroyo said.
"I can only speak for myself, and I do not need help from the Ombudsman," Ignacio Arroyo said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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