House junks Arroyo impeach bid
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:16:00 12/02/2008
Filed Under: Impeachment, Congress, Politics
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 6) Members of the House of Representatives threw out the latest impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
A total of 183 lawmakers voted to uphold the House committee report, which dismissed the fourth complaint against Arroyo as “insufficient in substance.” Twenty-one voted “no” and three House members abstained.
Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, in casting his negative vote, lamented the committee decision, saying, "Is this the way to treat a serious impeachment complaint."
Eleven members of the opposition bloc left the session hall after registering their "no" vote.
Zamora and South Cotabato Representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio said they saw no reason to still explain their vote.
"It is the administration allies who should explain to the people their vote, why they are killing the impeachment,” Custodio said. “The people know our stand."
But the endorsers of the complaint, mostly party list lawmakers, remained in the hall to defend their position against junking the complaint.
Leaving the hall with Zamora and Custodio are Representatives Rufus Rodriguez, Roilo Golez, Joel Villanueva, Cinchona Gonzales, Justin Marc Chipeco, Mujiv Hataman, Mar-len Abigail Binay, Maria Laarni Cayetano, and Benjamin Asilo.
Earlier, Bayan Muna partylist Representative Satur Ocampo, interpellating Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor, protested the impeachment complaint’s dismissal.
Ocampo said the charge of human rights violations could not be labeled an old issue because there have been new cases added in this year’s complaint that were not in previous cases.
Makati Representative Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr. said the Memorandum on Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front should have been included in the charges against the President.
Loscin said the MOA-AD could have easily been the "one viable" charge that could send the President into trial.
A group of bloggers, led by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist and television host Manuel Quezon III, had filed the motion for intervention to include the MOA-AD in the dismissed complaint by Jose de Venecia III.
In his opening statement, Defensor asked his colleagues to accept the decision of the House "without rancor or misgivings" if they fail to get the numbers in the chamber.
Defensor said the Constitution has been "liberal" in requiring only a one-third vote of the total membership of Congress to impeach the President.
"It is but right, therefore, that if the one-third vote of all members of he House is not garnered despite this liberal Constitutional concession, those for impeachment must accept the result without rancor or misgivings," Defensor said in his sponsorship speech of the justice committee report 1551 dismissing complaint for lack of substance.
"Impeachment, as many would say, is a question of numbers. True. Nonetheless, a more relevant question is 'how do you achieve the numbers?' To say that personal and partisan considerations are the bases to achieve the numbers is to simplify the issue beyond recognition.”
Defensor said the complaint failed to prove the grounds of impeachment that would merit a trial for the President. He said the committee has been transparent in determining the sufficiency in form and substance of the complaint.
Committee report 1551 was submitted earlier on Tuesday by the justice committee.
With 172 lawmakers present, a quorum was declared during the session.
Pro- and anti-impeachment groups packed the gallery of the session all to listen to the legislators as they debate on the report that dismissed, with a vote of 42-8, the complaint against Arroyo for lacking in substance.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney was also seen in the crowd, together with US officials. When asked about her presence, Kenney said she was there for a visit to the House and won’t stay for the proceedings.
Defensor has reiterated that he did not see a reversal of the ruling on the plenary.
Pro-impeachment lawmakers need at least 80 votes in the plenary or one-third of the House membership to reverse the ruling of the committee and send the complaint to the Senate for trial.
Aside from its ruling on the complaint filed by businessman Jose “Joey” De Venecia III, the report also contains the junking of three others, which were filed by the group of Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist, INQUIRER.net blogger, and television host Manuel Quezon III and lawyers Oliver Lozano and Guillermo Sotto.
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