'Have Mercy on us'

A strong Aquino supporter and prominent lawyer-constitutionalist e-mailed us his reaction about the recent Supreme Court decision allowing Congress to proceed with the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Calling it “ludicrous” and likening it to “another teleserye,” the lawyer said the impeachment will not be as easy as some Congressmen would like the public to believe since the process can become very lengthy and tedious.

First and foremost, the Ombudsman will have 15 days to file a motion for reconsideration whose review can take as long as three months, after which Congress would have to conduct the proceedings which could take at least six to eight months plus the fact that they will need to get a one-third vote from all the members of the House of Representatives to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Assuming the impeachment is transmitted to the Senate, the trial could take a minimum of six months and remember, a two-thirds vote from the senators will be needed to ultimately impeach the Ombudsman.

 By the time all of these take place since the Ombudsman has a fixed seven-year term and Gutierrez’s tenure ends in December 2012, there’s every possibility that she would have already retired before the actual removal can take place – something that even Senators Miriam Santiago and Chiz Escudero admit. As Chiz said, “Baka tapos na yung term niya hindi pa kami tapos” – making everything moot and academic.

The unfortunate part is that it will be once again the Filipino taxpayers who will shoulder the cost (estimated at P300 million) of an impeachment. And because the current Ombudsman will be totally pre-occupied with the impeachment, she will very likely not be focused on doing her job to the detriment of the office. “Have Mercy on us” – was the outcry of some taxpayers. As the lawyer suggested, it might be more productive for government to start looking forward and start preparing for the future.

AFP’s ‘favorite suppliers’

Spy Bits sources informed us that the machines meant to test the quality of materials supplied to the Armed Forces of the Philippines just lie idle and useless at the Logistics Command in Camp Aguinaldo. That’s because AFP allegedly has “favorite suppliers” of materials – from combat boots, uniforms, T-shirts down to briefs, socks and hankies for soldiers – who do not have to go through the bidding process and whose products are not subjected to quality control tests. For instance, uniforms supplied by this company (whose name should ring a bell since it virtually has a gold mine in the AFP) reportedly fade in as short as three weeks while the combat boots (made of hard and rough material) make it very difficult for soldiers to operate properly since they give so much discomfort. This practice has become a burden to soldiers (officials and enlisted men alike) who are forced to buy quality materials from outside sources at a higher cost.

According to sources, enlisted personnel are also entitled to a Re-enlistment Clothing Allowance or RCA amounting to P12,000 every three years, but the men only receive P8,000 while the remaining “balance” is given in kind –  low quality boots, uniform, socks and cloth for GOA or general office attire – all of which are definitely less than P4,000. So what happens to the “savings”? Your guess is as good as ours.

Arrested for estafa

We received information that a broker and former head of a local chamber was recently arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation at his residence in an upscale subdivision in Quezon City. The subject, who is related to a prominent lawyer, allegedly ran away with P150 million invested by clients in a securities corporation sometime in 2009 and it took almost three years before authorities were able to locate him. Considering that syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense, the arrested broker will definitely need the services of a good criminal lawyer, according to our Spy Bits source.

Spy tidbit

– Business tycoon Antonio “Tony Boy” Cojuangco was unanimously elected Chairman by the Board members and trustees of Philippines Inc., an organization of prominent businessmen initially organized in 1994 to accompany then President Fidel V. Ramos on his foreign trips. Also elected as president was businessman Antonio Lopa. Philippines, Inc. was then called Team Philippines, organized to help promote Philippine business abroad. Tony Boy Cojuangco is a cousin of President Noynoy Aquino.

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