Impeach-GMA petition not yet dead in House

Plans to file an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo are not dead yet.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran gave those seeking to file impeachment raps against the President a big boost yesterday.

Beltran said there is no truth to reports that he and his two other Bayan Muna colleagues, Representatives Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza, do not care about the charges leveled against Mrs. Arroyo.

"We are studying the complaint seriously," Beltran said. "The allegations and accusations of corruption against President Arroyo, as stated in the complaint, are already well known. But the crafting of the complaint appears to need more strengthening."

In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Palace was not surprised the House ignored the impeachment complaint because it could not find support from congressmen.

"This just goes to show that even the opposition members are not taking the charges seriously, " Bunye said.

On the other hand, Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri (Lakas, Bukidnon), said he does not think the planned impeachment petition against his party boss will be endorsed by any of his colleagues.

Even congressmen in the opposition are reluctant to endorse the petition, Zubiri said. "There is bipartisan sentiment to allow the President to pursue her reform program in peace and free from congressional heckling."

But, if the complainants find an endorser, the petition will be junked by the Lakas-dominated House, Zubiri added.

House secretary general Roberto Nazareno on Wednesday refused to accept the complaint when it was presented to him by petitioners led by Linda Montayre of the People’s Consultative Assembly (PCA).

Beltran said he has been asked by Montayre to endorse the complaint but he added that "endorsing an impeachment complaint against the President is a serious decision to make and the option must really first be studied thoroughly, as well as the evidence Ms. Montayre is presenting in her complaint."

However, Beltran admitted that the call for the President’s resignation or ouster was already issued in the parliament of the streets and outside the halls of Congress.

"This is not only because of the corruption issues against (Mrs. Arroyo), but because of her refusal to address crucial economic issues that directly hit the livelihood and welfare of consumers, such as electricity rate and water rate hikes; oil price increases; and increases in the prices of basic commodities," Beltran said.

"The street protests against the Arroyo administration continue to intensify and these are a better gauge of the people’s sentiments regarding the President," Beltran added. "During the campaign to remove Joseph Estrada from the presidency, various options were considered — forced resignation, impeachment and ouster via people power."

But, Beltran said, "in the case of the Arroyo presidency, it’s evident that the President is already on her way out because of how weakened her authority is."

Montayre, on the other hand is far from admitting defeat, adding that PCA has received feelers from at least 15 congressmen from across party lines.

These members of the House, she said, are willing to discuss the impeachment complaint she and opposition leader and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile attempted to lodge before the House.

She also said that since the news of their complaint broke, the PCA and other petitioners seeking Mrs. Arroyo’s impeachment have been receiving messages of support by the hundreds.

Montayre added that she expects help from the party-list legislators in the House. "We don’t think that everybody there will not be supporting us. We only need one endorsement to get it going."

She told The STAR in a phone interview that "we’re confident that, in the long run, things will be to our favor."

House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla said in a radio interview that the opposition legislators in the House are willing to support the impeachment complaint, provided it is supported with strong evidence.