Nograles sending GMA impeach case to House committee today

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Prospero Nograles is sending the new impeachment complaint against President Arroyo to the House committee on justice today.

“Will refer it tomorrow, Monday, before end of session,” he said in a text message in response to a question from The STAR.

Nograles decided to refer the impeachment complaint to the justice committee to speed up the process.

Under the House impeachment rules, the Speaker has 10 session days within which to send the complaint to the committee on justice.

Two weeks ago, Nograles told reporters he wants the House of Representatives to end deliberations on the impeachment complaint within this month so they can attend to next year’s proposed P1.415-trillion national budget and the Reproductive Health Bill.

However, he does not think the case would prosper since it does not have the support of a majority of congressmen.

Even the minority is divided on it, he added.

Nograles said Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante or any other witness would not be allowed to testify before the committee on justice.

It is in a Senate impeachment trial where witnesses can be called to testify, he added.

The justice committee, chaired by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, would first determine whether the complaint is sufficient in form before going into its substance.

Defensor said they can call witnesses if they find enough substance in the impeachment complaint of Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, lawyer Harry Roque, Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico and several others.

De Venecia has expressed his intention to testify, while Roque intends to have Bolante summoned as a “hostile witness” against Mrs. Arroyo.

The P728-million fertilizer scam is included in the graft and corruption impeachment charge against Mrs. Arroyo.

De Venecia said he would talk about the botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract the government awarded to Chinese firm ZTE Corp. in April 2007 in ceremonies in a China airport witnessed by Mrs. Arroyo herself.

Mrs. Arroyo initially wanted the NBN project undertaken through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme at no up-front cost to taxpayers, he added.

The former speaker’s son, Joey, had submitted a BOT proposal for NBN.

De Venecia said Mrs. Arroyo changed her mind after a luncheon meeting with ZTE officials at the Chinese firm’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China in November 2006.

She agreed with then chairman Benjamin Abalos of the Commission on Elections to have Chinese government fund the project through a loan, he added.

Joey had claimed that Abalos was brokering the deal and that First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo once told him to “back off” the project.