MANILA, Philippines—With Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez likely to be impeached for, among other things, failing to act on graft cases involving the former First Family, the Arroyos at the House of Representatives on Tuesday said all they wanted was “fair treatment.”
“What GMA (former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), needs as does any Filipino citizen, is a fair court wherein the rules of evidence are used in determining innocence or guilt,” her elder son, Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, said in a text message to reporters.
This was echoed by his brother, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo, who said President Aquino’s allies should give Gutierrez “due process given to her by the Constitution in spite of the President’s order to speed up her impeachment.”
Former President Joseph Estrada, who himself went through an impeachment trial that led to his ouster a decade ago, said Gutierrez was not exactly deprived of due process at the administration-dominated House.
Contacted by phone for comment, Estrada said that consistent with the rules, Gutierrez’s case was examined and deliberated on at the committee level and would be transmitted to the plenary level for approval.
Estrada: Gutierrez’s luckier
“In a way, she’s luckier than me,” he told the Inquirer, reiterating that he was never accorded due process when he was impeached in 2000.
“So if she’s really innocent, she can defend herself in the Senate impeachment court. If she’s not guilty, she has nothing to fear,” he said.
By Estrada’s reckoning, Gutierrez could learn from his emotional strength and optimism at his own impeachment trial.
“I was ready to defend myself, but the prosecutors walked out when it was my turn to do so,” he said. “Even if the impeachment process was railroaded, I knew I could defend myself.”
Estrada said the Senate would provide a better venue for Gutierrez to air her defense.
“The Senate is more mature in deciding on this. It is more objective. She will be given due process there,” he said.
Estrada’s son, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, echoed his father’s position, saying: “We will assure the Ombudsman that she will be given due process here in the Senate.” Reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Christian V. Esguerra