House inches closer to impeaching Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) The House of Representatives inched closer to impeaching Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez when members of the justice committee that was tasked to conduct the proceedings found probable cause to remove her from her post for betrayal of public trust on the first and second complaints.

The first complaint got 39 votes in favor, 9 votes against and one abstention while the second got 39 votes in favor, 6 against and one abstention.
Gutierrez did not show up during the hearing.

Adopting its classical definition, Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas said probable cause sought “to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to engender a well-founded belief that an impeachable offense may have been committed and the respondent is probably guilty thereof and should be held for trial.”

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III described the impeachment proceedings as “historical” for both the House and Senate.

“We should all be reminded that this is historical. The House hasn’t gone this far with regards to the impeachment proceedings. In the 14th Congress, we could not even pass sufficiency of substance, the complaints are always dismissed,” he said.

Tañada added that it would also be a first for the Senate because the 2001 impeachment process involving then President Joseph Estrada was not completed following a walkout of the senators that triggered the people’s uprising.

In September, the justice committee voted that the two complaints were sufficient in form and substance. Its members again voted and determined that the complaints had sufficient grounds to be heard.

Voting on the existence of probable cause comes last.

Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr., chairman of the justice committee, which conducted the hearings, said he had formed a team of seven lawmakers who will craft the Article of Impeachment once approved in plenary.

In a news conference after the hearing, Tupas said they will submit the committee report on March 14 and hope that plenary debates can begin on March 15.

The complaint needs at least 94 votes or one-third of the 283-member chamber for it to be sent to the Senate for trial.

Tupas expressed confidence they can muster the votes needed to impeach Gutierrez.

“We will get the votes, the committee on justice is confident we will get more than the required 94 votes,” he told reporters.

The impeachment complaint for betrayal of public trust will be based on six allegations, which will be consolidated from the two complaints. The allegations were for Gutierrez’s alleged low conviction rate of the cases pending before her office; her inaction on the murder case of Navy Ensign Philip Pestano; her failure to prosecute officials involved in the botched national broadband network agreement with Chinese firm ZTE Corporation; and her failure to act on the case of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, the Commission on Elections contract with MegaPacific Corp., and the case of the generals who stashed away thousands of euros in Russia.

Prior to the vote, Minority Leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman noted the “haste” in which the
proceedings were being done and warned the leaders of the committee “not to jettison … the due process” in deciding Gutierrez’s fate.

“The critical imperatives of due process must not be sacrificed to imprudent haste,” Lagman said, saying that members of the committee were given only few hours to examine all the documents pertinent to the case.

Raising the same issue, Davao del Sur Representative Marc Douglas Cagas, another member of the minority bloc, said members of the committee would be committing “grave abuse of discretion” if they would vote on the issue that was not sufficiently debated on.

“Let this infamous or famous day be a constant reminder to all of us, who are all politicians, that today we have committed our own mistakes, even grave abuse of discretion and constitutional violation because of the frailties of haste and of political partisanship,” Cagas said.

Maguindanao Representative Simeon Datumanong proposed that the committee form two panels of speakers that would debate on the matter.

Deputy Speaker and Northern Samar Representative Raul Daza and Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Farinas, members of the majority bloc, said enough time had been accorded to Gutierrez to respond but that she snubbed the committee’s calls.

“Records will reflect that it is she who has not shown respect for the constitutional process of impeachment; therefore she should bear the consequences of her own conduct,” Daza said.