Opposition aiming for 150 impeachment rap signatories

Opposition congressmen who filed the impeachment complaint against President Estrada are now gunning for 150 signatures after gaining the support of half of the 218-member House of Representatives.

Assistant Minority Leader Michael Defensor (LP, Quezon City), one of the original 42 petitioners, said the complaint "passed the majority mark" with 110 signatures, making the precedent-setting impeachment of a Philippine president more certain.

"Based on the pledges we have received, we are now aiming for 150 signatures," Defensor said.

Under the Constitution, only 73 votes are required to send the impeachment petition to the Senate where the embattled President will face trial, with 16 votes needed for a conviction.

But Defensor said they want to get the overwhelming support of the House. "If we have these numbers, we can send out a message to Erap in big, bold letters: Mr. President, we want you fired," he said.

Among the latest signatories was Palawan Rep. Vicen-te Sandoval, formerly with the LAMP coalition.

"It is time to set aside party affiliations and look deep into our hearts where our conscience, our moral values, our people and our country stand," said Sandoval.

Sandoval’s lawmaker-son, Federico Sandoval II, who represents Malabon-Navotas, was one of the complaint’s original petitioners.

However, despite the wave of mass defections to the opposition, several pro-Estrada congressmen collectively known as the "Bright Boys" are sticking it out with the administration party.

"We will not abandon a wounded friend, not now, not ever. We will stay with him through thick and thin," Assistant Majority Leader Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, who spoke for the group, said.

The other members of the group are Gilberto Teodoro of Tarlac, Francis Escudero of Sorsogon, Jesus Romualdo of Camiguin and Ace Durano of Cebu.

They have lost three members to the pro-impeachment ranks: Alan Peter Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros, the youngest lawmaker, Edmundo Reyes Jr. of Marinduque and Juan Pablo Bondoc of Pampanga.

Albano said his group welcomes the opportunity for the President to fully answer the charges against him when the Senate opens trial.

"He remains innocent until proven otherwise in the trial. Until such time that a decision has been made, we should accord him the respect due a President," he said.

He also appealed to the remaining members of the Cabinet not to abandon Mr. Estrada at this time.

"As Cabinet members, they were sworn to help the President govern the nation. Abandoning him at a time when the nation is suffering economically would only aggravate the situation," Albano said.

LAMP congressmen sitting in the House justice committee, which will deliberate on the impeachment complaint, are expected today to make a last-ditch although futile stand.

Pampanga Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, vice chairman of the committee and one of the 40 congressmen who resigned en masse from LAMP with Speaker Manuel Villar Jr., is expected to preside over the hearing.

Villar said lawmakers will consider today whether to "elevate" the complaint to the House plenary session.

"A group of lawyers is studying whether the impeachment motion can be immediately voted by the House to be raised to the Senate or whether it must still go through the committee on justice," Villar said.

Rodriguez said LAMP party members could still delay the process "but it is only a matter of time before the complaint is sent to the Senate."

To expedite the impeachment process, Rodriguez, a human rights lawyer, suggested that an amended complaint be filed with at least 73 signatures to comply with the minimum signature requirement as provided by the Constitution.

This was also the suggestion of Rep. Antonio Nachura of Western Samar, a member of a legal panel formed by House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (Lakas, Quezon City) to study the constitutional and legal requirements of the impeachment process.

Rodriguez vowed that he would not let the new House majority bloc, composed of the old opposition and the defectors, muzzle LAMP congressmen – the way they gagged Mr. Estrada’s accuser, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, when he testified at the House last month.

For his part, Rep. Ernesto Herrera (Lakas, Bohol) urged senators to "stand their ground and see to it that a speedy and fair impeachment trial will take place."

"The economy is battered. The people are impatient. The Senate has to act swiftly and judiciously," said Herrera, a former senator.

Herrera opposed any compromise with Mr. Estrada. "If the President resigns or is removed from office through impeachment, he should face appropriate criminal charges in court.

"There is a moral issue here. Do we need a bargain for a graceful exit? I don’t think so," he said.