Opposition to speed up impeachment complaint vs GMA

In a change of tactics, opposition lawmakers said yesterday they will now endorse and speed up an impeachment complaint filed in the House of Representatives against President Arroyo, who has weathered mounting calls to step down over vote-rigging allegations.

The opposition had previously shunned the impeachment route, fearing it was "a trap" and that Mrs. Arroyo’s allies, who are in the majority, would block proceedings.

According to San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, legal experts will be enlisted to revise the complaint, filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano, to make it an airtight case. He added that the opposition has started gathering the necessary numbers to impeach the President.

An impeachment complaint endorsed by one-third or 78 members of the House can be sent directly to the Senate for trial.

Zamora conceded the procedure "is not going to be easy. The House opposition is outnumbered by the majority, nine to one."

"We have to convince a huge number of people in the majority," he said. They plan to present the strengthened impeachment complaint later this month.

In his complaint, Lozano demanded that Congress oust Mrs. Arroyo for "betrayal of public trust," one of several grounds for impeachment cited by the Constitution.

The complaint stems from wiretapped recordings purporting to show that Mrs. Arroyo and a senior election official plotted to rig the May 2004 vote.

Congress has launched an inquiry into the tapes.

Mrs. Arroyo has refused to resign but said she was willing to face impeachment proceedings before Congress, where her allies hold a majority of seats.

The opposition had earlier hoped other forms of pressure such as street protests would persuade Mrs. Arroyo to quit.

Zamora said the opposition has already received "commitments" from some 50 to 60 members of the 250-member House. "This is a figure you can build on, especially if you can make a substantial complaint on impeachment," he said.

Zamora said the opposition "hopes to be able to work out all the requirements of a substantial impeachment complaint" by the time Mrs. Arroyo delivers her annual state of the nation report on July 25.

The new complaint will first go to the House justice committee, which can block it from going to the full House.

Willing to give way

Lozano said yesterday he was willing to accept an amendment or withdraw his petition if opposition congressmen and other lawmakers calling for the impeachment of Mrs. Arroyo were ready to substitute their own.

Sought for comment on the complainant’s offer, House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said, "We welcome his gesture, but that will not rush us into going into an impeachment process."

"Forcing the President to step down remains the best option for the nation to get out of the present political crisis," he said.

Another minority member, Rep. Florencio Noel of the party-list group An Waray, echoed Escudero’s appraisal of Lozano’s offer.

"We thank Attorney Lozano, but we want to see the House approve its impeachment rules in an impeachment process where the rules are not clear and fair. Who knows, Mrs. Arroyo’s allies may not even allow the substitution of Attorney Lozano’s petition," he said.

The lawyer’s petition has been endorsed by Rep. Rodante Marcoleta of the party-list group Alagad. Marcoleta is an administration ally and stands with a core group of Mrs. Arroyo’s defenders in the House inquiry over the "Gloriagate" tapes.

A second petition, filed by another lawyer, Jose Lopez of Malate, Manila, is pending. It has one endorser, Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, who is also an administration ally.

The Lopez complaint is essentially the same as Lozano’s. In fact, the second petitioner just adopted the first petitioner’s complaint and made minor additions.

On Monday, Escudero and his colleagues said they would study the suggestion of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for impeachment to proceed against the President.

The last time the Philippines impeached a sitting president was in 2000, when Joseph Estrada was accused of raiding the public coffers.

The hearings broke down after Estrada allies in the Senate blocked the presentation of crucial evidence.

Massive street protests that followed snowballed into a military-backed "people power" revolt that forced Estrada to step down in January 2001. He was replaced by then vice president Arroyo.

In signs that the tide may be turning for Mrs. Arroyo after a tumultuous five days, more voices warned against any attempts to oust her through extra-constitutional means.

Mrs. Arroyo appointed banker and ex-congressman Margarito Teves to the key post of finance secretary yesterday. The surprising resignation of his predecessor and nine other top officials last Friday heightened the crisis sparked by allegations that she stole the 2004 presidential vote.

Presidential aides vowed that crucial economic reforms would be pushed through. The peso was firmer in mid-morning trading, partly on perceptions that the political scene was quieting down.

Some critics who last week had joined calls for Mrs. Arroyo to step down were now backtracking. And despite some calls by influential business groups for Arroyo’s resignation, others were opposed.

Donald Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businessmen were more concerned that the constitutional process be followed.

"The elections are over. We have a president, we have a vice president. The constitution is clear. We recognize President Gloria Arroyo as the duly constituted president," he said.

He warned that forcing her out of office would result in continuing uncertainty, with people always questioning the legitimacy of any successor.

Massive military-backed street protests brought down dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and corruption-tainted Estrada in 2001. But many Filipinos appeared weary of turmoil and wary of straining the country’s fragile democracy yet again.

Various groups have been holding daily rallies to demand Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster in hopes these would snowball into a popular outcry but numbers have been relatively small.

Some opposition figures were pinning hopes on a planned mass demonstration today in Makati City’s financial district.

Last week it seemed Mrs. Arroyo might not survive a scandal arising from audio tapes which the opposition says prove that she cheated in last year’s elections.

Meanwhile, former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, some business organizations and small parties that were part of the ruling coalition joined the calls for her to go.

However, former President Fidel Ramos and allies in Congress and local governments reiterated their support for Mrs. Arroyo.

In a crucial weekend development the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines declined to tell Mrs. Arroyo to resign. She has consistently denied any wrongdoing and said she welcomes impeachment as a chance to clear her name.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, a staunch ally of Mrs. Arroyo, said it would tackle the impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives immediately.

De Venecia also announced that pro-Arroyo congressmen were meeting opposition legislators to take up a proposal by both Mrs. Arroyo and Ramos to transform the bicameral democratic government to a unicameral parliamentary system.

They want the 1987 Constitution amended to change the form of government to promote stability and reduce political bickering. — AFP, Jess Diaz