Impeachment trial begins - ROSES AND THORNS By Alejandro R. Roces

As of today, the call will no longer be for Erap to resign. It will be to have him impeached and everything will depend on the outcome of the proceedings conducted by the Senate. This is the first time in our history that members of Congress will assume the role of prosecutors while Senators take on the role of judges. It is very obvious that President Estrada’s continuance in office has become the main public concern. One thing is certain. Our economy is so bad that we will undoubtedly all have a bleak Christmas. Sad to say, about the only thing that can make it joyous will be a popular impeachment decision in consonance with our laws of justice.

As we said, no issue has aroused the interest of all sectors of our society. They had to issue a directive to prohibit schoolchildren from discussing the Erap Resign Movement in the classrooms. And now, National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre warned soldiers going on unauthorized leave to join protest rallies against President Estrada that they will be court-martialed. The armed forces have their rules on absence without official leave. What makes this a serious matter is that President Estrada is ex-officio Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Now that the impeachment proceedings have started, things should be more stable. It is true that President Estrada can still voluntarily resign even now. But at this stage, everything will really depend on the impeachment trial in the Senate. If President Estrada resigns, it will not be because of public pressure. It will be because the impeachment trial may be clearly not working in his favor. In short, resign before they make a decision. What we are trying to say, is that the rallies asking President Estrada to resign should now be concentrated on the Senate. They should not demand his impeachment. They should just demand justice. We cannot say whether a person is guilty or not before we have seen the evidence. The case is now subsenatus.

In the meantime, dismal tax collection and meager privatization proceeds threaten to widen the National Government’s budget gap to as much as P126.5 billion by the end of the year. A long impeachment process will definitely not be good for the economy. Former Socio-economic Planning Secretary Solita C. Monsod has said that everything will be in "suspended animation" until the Estrada issue is resolved. "Businesses," she said, "cannot make decisions while this thing is going on. They have to know, they have to find out what the resolution is going to be."