Palace defends Congressmen who voted to junk Aquino impeach raps

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – As far as Malacañang is concerned, congressmen did what they were supposed to do when they junked the impeachment complaints filed against President Benigno Aquino III.

“Ang pasya ng komite ng Kamara ay batay sa paninindigan ng higit na nakararami na walang sapat na batayan ang mga paratang laban sa Pangulo,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message.

(The decision of the House committee on Justice is based on the stand of the majority that there is no sufficient basis for the accusations against the President.)

Coloma added that the petitioners should not stray from the issue at hand by referring to a case still under the Supreme Court.

He was reacting to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s (Bayan) statement that what happened was an injustice because “Aquino allies who benefited from DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program) killed the impeachment to defend their pork barrel benefactor.”

The justice committee on Tuesday found the three impeachment complaints, two of which tackled the DAP, insufficient in substance.

In separate votes, 54 lawmakers dismissed each of the three complaints, and only four voted in favor of the raps.

Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas, committee chair, said the votes reflected the sentiment of the House.

During the hearing, the lawmakers pointed out that the impeachment was a political process. Aquino allies had said earlier that the complaints will not flourish because the administration still has the numbers in Congress.

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