‘Not all party-list groups will block impeachment’
MANILA, Philippines—There is no unified party-list bloc in the majority coalition in the House of Representatives, and no such bloc has agreed to thwart any move to impeach President Benigno Aquino III, according to a party-list lawmaker.
Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
“We are not unthinking members of the majority,” said Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, as he dissociated his group from an administration lawmaker’s sweeping claim of unity against the prospects of Mr. Aquino’s being impeached.
Bello was reacting to reports that leaders of the ruling coalition, including a bloc led by Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe claiming to represent the party-list groups, had come to an agreement to block any attempt to impeach Mr. Aquino over his actions with regard to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.
“There is no unified party-list bloc in the House majority. No one is authorized to speak for all the party-list groups,” Bello said.
Akbayan, some of whose members have secured key positions in the Aquino administration, has criticized the DAP, saying that the unregulated fiscal powers of the executive branch must be clipped.
Bello said his group did not subscribe to the idea of the impeachment process as a “numbers game.”
Article continues after this advertisement“Those who relate to it this way do a disservice to democracy. Our party has always approached the process not from a partisan point of view but from the substance of the allegations in an impeachment initiative,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisementOn Wednesday, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said that leaders of various House blocs belonging to the majority had agreed that any effort to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President would be blocked.
The administration congressman went on to name the pro-Aquino blocs in the majority coalition and their leaders:
Bicol bloc, Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento; Southern Tagalog, Laguna Rep. Joaquin Chipeco; Muslim bloc, Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong; Visayan bloc, Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas; the National Unity Party, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga; party-list bloc, Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe;
Mindanao bloc, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez; Cordillera Administrative Region, Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan; Metro Manila, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice and Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo; and Ilocos bloc, Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson.
Talk about impeaching the President surfaced on Tuesday after the Supreme Court ruled certain practices under the DAP to be unconstitutional, including the release of savings of the executive branch to other agencies, as well as the funding of projects not listed in the General Appropriations Act or the national budget.
But when asked for Akbayan’s position on the impeachment of Mr. Aquino, Bello said the party would issue a statement in due time.
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