ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio. PHOTO from congress.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines–A third impeachment complaint is set to be filed on Thursday against President Aquino this time over the recently entered into by the Philippines with the United States, a lawmaker said.
The complaint will take Aquino to task for purported violations of the constitutional ban on permanent foreign military bases in the country under the 10-year agreement, which was signed in April, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said.
EDCA gives the United States greater access to “agreed locations,” or bases, across the country to boost the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Militants, however, assailed the agreement for supposedly ceding Philippine sovereignty to the Americans. But a government primer said EDCA is constitutional since it is only “at the invitation of the Philippines and with full respect for the Philippine Constitution and Philippine laws.” At least three petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court seeking the scrapping of the agreement.
Makabayan bloc
Tinio said the new impeachment complaint would be filed by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other groups led by former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño and Bayan chair Carol Araullo, among others.
He will endorse the complaint along with other members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives who have not yet signed the previous impeachment raps filed by their allies this week.
On Monday, other Bayan leaders and activists filed the first impeachment complaint against Aquino in connection with the unconstitutional provisions of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), a stimulus program in 2011 which the Supreme Court struck down on July 1.
DAP funds came from pooled savings and unspent funds which were then allocated for priority projects.
Youth groups’ case
On Tuesday, a second impeachment complaint was filed by youth groups raising similar grounds against the President.
Representatives belonging to the Makabayan bloc endorsed the complaints, which were received by the House Secretary General.
Two other impeachment complaints were also filed against Aquino by lawyer Oliver Lozano and former congressman Augusto Syjuco, but no lawmaker endorsed either complaint, a requirement for it to proceed to the plenary.
The chair of the House committee on justice, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, earlier said it was okay to have several impeachment complaints filed on different days, for as long as these were referred to the committee for deliberation on the same day.
Tinio said the issue of EDCA was just as important as the DAP, prompting the group to file separate complaints.
“This is equally serious as the DAP. If the DAP was a usurpation of the congressional power of the purse, EDCA was a curtailment of the constitutional provisions on sovereignty,” he said.
Escudero warning
As this developed, Sen. Francis Escudero on Wednesday said his colleagues should refrain from commenting on the impeachment complaints filed against President Aquino.
“I’d like to remind our colleagues in the Senate that it may not be good to speak too much about the impeachment. It might reach us, and you might be seen as prejudging the case one way or the other,” Escudero told reporters on Wednesday.
He said it would be best to leave the House of Representatives to tackle the complaints.
Earlier, several senators expressed doubt that moves to impeach Aquino over the DAP would prosper, given that majority of Congress members are his allies.
On Tuesday, Sen. JV Ejercito said the President’s impeachment would not be good for the country because it would be divisive and would create political instability.
Malacañang officials have also downplayed the threat posed by the impeachment complaints against the President.–With a report by Leila B. Salaverria