Public opinion to decide Aquino impeachment, say lawmakers

MANILA, Philippines–Public opinion will be the “game changer” in any move to impeach the President, a member of the minority in the House of Representatives said on Thursday.

“Yes, impeachment is a political exercise, but even if it is a political exercise, public opinion will play a great role,” said ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, who noted the sharp dive in Aquino’s approval rating since the Supreme Court ruled that the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was unconstitutional.

But Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares was less optimistic, saying the two unsuccessful attempts to impeach former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be indicative of the chances of Aquino being impeached.

“The people think it’s a proceeding that must be done. It’s an accountability mechanism but it could also be a truth-telling mechanism. The people want to know where the DAP went, and Malacañang has not explained,” Colmenares said.

The impeachment proceedings, Colmenares said, could be a venue “to tell the truth about where the DAP went.”

“If our colleagues believe that the people are our bosses, what’s wrong with reading it first and making a decision accordingly,” he said.

He described impeachable officials as “gods.”

“They cannot be sued while in their posts. They’re immune. The only accountability mechanism left is impeachment, which is why it is good to hear from our colleagues who have no judgment yet towards the impeachment complaint, unlike our other colleagues who will say, without looking at the complaint, ‘we have the numbers, we will block it,’” Colmenares said.

Leaders of the ruling coalition in the House have vowed to collectively block any moves to impeach the President.

The militant Makabayan bloc has postponed filing its impeachment complaint to next week due to the damage wrought by Typhoon “Glenda” in the metropolis.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), its allies and the Kabataan party-list group are poised to file separate complaints.

Two impeachment complaints were earlier filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano and former Rep. Augusto Syjuco, but no member of Congress has come forward to endorse either complaint, a requirement for it to proceed to the plenary.

A member of the House majority, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, said he would not prejudge the complaints as he was the senior vice chair of the justice committee.

But he conceded that the impeachment process was a “numbers game.”

“This is a political game … if the President still enjoys the support of both houses, there’s no way you can remove him,” he said.

“If the Constitution did not want political color in the impeachment process, [it] would not have [been] put … in a political department. This is why the judiciary has nothing to do with impeachment,” Fariñas said.

Even so, he added, “it’s not futile for them” to file impeachment complaints. “It’s a democracy … it’s up to each one’s conscience.”