President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s husband, Jose Miguel ?Mike? Arroyo, Tuesday came to the defense of beleaguered Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the target of an impeachment case in the House of Representatives.

Mike Arroyo, who belonged to the same batch at the Ateneo Law School as Gutierrez, said those seeking the Ombudsman?s removal from office should lay off her. He denied having close ties with Gutierrez, who was Ms Arroyo?s chief presidential legal counsel and acting justice secretary before the President appointed her Ombudsman.

?We were not even in the same class. We were year mates but we were not kaklase (classmates). She?s just doing her job, just let her alone, leave her alone,? Mike Arroyo said in a television interview.

According to him, it is former Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta, vice chair of the Liberal Party (LP), who is behind the impeachment complaint against Gutierrez.

The First Gentleman said it was evident that Acosta and the LP were seeking revenge against Gutierrez, whose office ordered last week the filing of graft charges against the former lawmaker for purportedly defrauding the government of P10.5 million in public funds.

The LP Tuesday trained its guns on Gutierrez for attacking former Sen. Jovito Salonga in what it described as her ?desperate attempt? to defend herself and her office from public condemnation.

The LP said Gutierrez?s attack on Salonga was ?not to serve the ends of justice but rather to cloud the issues and portray a respected statesman in a bad light even as it tries to project resolve in pursuing its mandate.?

It said the Ombudsman?s move was consistent with the administration?s ?squid tactic of harassing its critics and whistle-blowers? while proclaiming its determination to combat graft and corruption.

On Monday, Salonga joined about 30 petitioners from civil society in filing an impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives against Gutierrez. They charged her with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution for her purported inaction over corruption scandals involving officials close to Malacañang.

Salonga said he signed the impeachment complaint as leader of Kilosbayan and Bantay Katarungan, and not as chair emeritus of the LP, to avoid making it appear as a partisan act.

In reaction, Gutierrez accused Salonga of bungling government efforts to go after the ill-gotten wealth of the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his business cronies.

She said that when he chaired the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Salonga was responsible for the loss of important documents on the Marcos wealth.

Gutierrez?s tirade prompted the LP to issue a statement that said in part: ?This latest antic of the Ombudsman is a desperate attempt to shore up public confidence in [her office] and stem public indignation and clamor for her resignation.?

Verdict of history

The LP said Gutierrez ?cannot escape the verdict of history? with her misuse of the Office of the Ombudsman.

It said ?her inaction? on ?the MegaPacific deal, the ZTE-NBN case, the fertilizer fund scam and a host of corruption cases that have plagued this country? under the administration of Ms Arroyo ?skews the ends of justice in favor of a rapacious and illegitimate cabal in Malacañang.?

The LP said Salonga had ?served his publics selflessly with a consistent and deliberate application of the rule of law and a high ethical standard.?

?It puts to shame the record of the Ombudsman, which has shown obvious partiality in pursuing cases affecting Gloria Macapagal?Arroyo, her family and those they are indebted to,? it said.

Salonga also found an ally in Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who, although on leave as an LP member, Tuesday backed the impeachment complaint.

Pangilinan referred to Gutierrez?s ?inaction, mishandling and downright dismissal? of graft cases as part of her ?bullying tactics.?

He challenged Gutierrez to immediately take an indefinite leave, adding that ?her acts have undermined her ability to perform with impartiality.?

LP conspiracy

In a separate statement, LP national chair Franklin Drilon admitted that the party was behind the moves to oust Gutierrez.

But Drilon?like Salonga a former Senate president?said the impeachment complaint filed by a number of LP members was only part of ?the party?s ?conspiracy? to rid the government of corrupt officials.?

He said the LP viewed the ouster move as ?a conspiracy for the welfare of the country, for clean governance, and against corruption in government.?

Drilon said the LP had long been ?itching? to make Gutierrez and her ?political masters? answerable for the controversies hounding the government for years.

He said the impeachment complaint represented the people?s feelings against the unabated graft and corruption.

Sen. Manuel ?Mar? Roxas II, the party president, called for Gutierrez?s resignation.

He said he expected Ms Arroyo?s husband to defend Gutierrez because the latter had been ?playing blind? to irregularities in the government.

?What is important is for [Gutierrez] to answer the issues raised in this impeachment,? Roxas said. ?She is saying so many things ... Why can?t she answer this simple question: Why are these corrupt officials not facing charges yet??

Fingers pointing back

In a statement, Salonga said Gutierrez was trying ?an old trick.?

?She points an accusing finger at me, not realizing that her other fingers point back at her. She hopes to distract public attention from her incompetence and palpable violation of the Constitution. In truth, her offenses are well-documented in the impeachment charges signed and filed against her by around 30 Filipinos of indisputable credibility,? he said.

Quoting from his book, ?Presidential Plunder,? Salonga reminded Gutierrez that his briefcase containing irreplaceable papers against the Marcoses was not stolen in New York as it was safeguarded by then Col. Thelmo Cunanan.

Salonga said what was stolen was then PCGG Commissioner Pedro Yap?s briefcase, as well as a small bag belonging to his wife Lydia Salonga, which contained passports and airline tickets.

?Which is why the Ombudsman?s talk about my supposed stolen briefcase is no more than a cheap attempt to divert public attention from her offenses against our people??the typical tactic of the guilty and the undeserving,?? Salonga said.

He narrated how he and other PCGG officials were able to recover for the government the four Manhattan buildings owned by the Marcoses, including the 40 Wall St. Building which had served as the family?s townhouse in New York.

The PCGG also obtained evidence that as early as March 1968, Marcos and his wife Imelda had been depositing in Swiss banks under pseudonyms and using corporate devices to conceal their wealth, Salonga said.

Speaker Prospero Nograles has committed to transmit the impeachment complaint to the committee on rules led by House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor without waiting for the mandatory 10 days to lapse.

Congress goes on its Lenten break next week and will resume session in the second week of April.