Estrada allies belittle Lakas impeach plan

Allies of President Estrada in the House of Representatives belittled yesterday the purported plan of the opposition Lakas to move for the impeachment of the Chief Executive.

"Any Lakas impeachment initiative against the President won't take off. They simply don't have the numbers," Assistant Majority Leader Rodolfo Albano III (LAMP, Isabela) told reporters.

He said Mr. Estrada continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of the House, which is dominated by the ruling Lapian ng Masang Pilipino.

"Besides, there is no ground to oust the President. He has not violated the Constitution nor his oath to serve the people," he said.

He added that the Chief Executive can be removed from office only if he violates the Charter.

Albano was commenting on the alleged plan revealed by an unnamed Lakas official that the opposition would move to impeach the President after the 2001 elections.

The Lakas official said if the move is initiated before the elections and it succeeds, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who will ascend the presidency, would be disqualified from running in the 2004 presidential elections.

For her to be qualified, she should serve less than half of the term of the impeached President, the official said.

Thus, the impeachment move should start after the 2001 elections, he added.

Albano belittled the purported plan even as Deputy Minority Leader Sergio Apostol (Lakas, Leyte) denied the claim of the unnamed party official that the opposition has not shifted its strategy to a plan calling for the impeachment of Mr. Estrada.

"The party never adopted an impeach-Erap strategy - first, because it is not our policy to destabilize the government; and second, because we do not have the numbers in both houses of Congress to impeach," Apostol told reporters.

He said the party's policy remains one of critical collaboration with the administration.

"This means basically providing our counsel and support in the passage of critical reform legislation that is vital to the economy and the nation.

"This also means fiscalizing the administration in the conduct of government and the implementation of reforms passed by Congress," he said.

Last week, Corazon Valenzuela, a 59-year-old widow from Parañaque, gave the offices of several congressmen an impeachment complaint against the President.

She said Mr. Estrada has no clear vision of government and has been doing a "trial and error governance." She also blamed him for the many scandals that have hounded his administration.