The arrogance of the ‘Pro-Erap’ senators provoked the crisis in the Senate and streets - BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven

Yesterday and Tuesday night were two days of "horror" for President Estrada and the credibility of the Senate impeachment process.

The wave upon wave of demonstrators who gathered at the EDSA Shrine were worrisome for Erap, indeed, in their fury and numbers. Naturally, they were egged on by his Political Turbulence Jaime Cardinal Sin (who issued the first call for people to rush there for "prayers" kuno), ex-President Cory Aquino in her signature yellow outfit (who enthused about a resurrection of "People Power"), and former President Fidel V. Ramos who – shucking his suit for a t-shirt – dashed, fresh off his plane from Hong Kong, to harangue the EDSA crowds (loudly decrying the stink in the Senate as being as smelly as the stink of uncollected Metro Manila garbage).

Can these demonstrations shout Erap out of office, or jump-start "revolution", or military intervention? They may look and sound like the Apocalypse or Armaggedon, but it’s early days yet. There’s still a long way to go – whatever the final outcome. As one who was at the EDSA barricades during the four days and nights of fervor and confrontation of February 1986, I have to say that the power and the glory, the prayerful agony and dedication of the original EDSA People Power uprising are not so easily replicated.

One thing is clear. The bad news has gone around the world 100 times since the fiasco in the Senate of Tuesday night, with the international news services, and cable TV like CNN, BBC, et cetera, displaying vivid shots of the angry demonstrators surging to and fro with their anti-Erap streamers and placards, and their angry speeches.

The Senate met briefly yesterday, then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. banged the gavel for adjournment "until such time that the House of Representatives" has acted on the resignation of the 11 House prosecutors who walked out en masse, and elected a new set of prosecutors, if that’s possible in the near future.

In truth, the resignation of Senate President Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel has badly eroded the credibility of the Senate impeachment process. As he said when he announced his resignation, after casting his vote to open the second envelope, the vote of the 11 Senators considered to be "pro-Erap" to oppose the opening of the sealed second envelope from the Equitable PCIBank had inflicted severe Constitutional damage to the Senate.

I’m mystified why the 11 Senators who voted a stubborn "No" had decided to show their hand, and bully their way to blocking the disclosure, at this too early stage in the impeachment proceedings – when everybody had already virtually "guessed" at the contents of the envelope.

That stupid move was all for nothing. It threw everything into a tizzy and provoked the House prosecution into resigning – as well as sending a furious mob into the streets. Now, everybody imagines the worst about the "Jose Velarde" documents which have been almost forcibly kept under seal. There’s no need for a smoking gun – the smoke itself is blinding.

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When (or if) the impeachment trial resumes, there’s no longer any mystery about who will vote for "acquittal." The Senators who voted "no" Tuesday night gave the game away. They were exactly the Senators I had predicted in this column last January 8 as expected to vote for the President’s acquittal – namely, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, John "Sonny" Osmeña, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Francisco "Kit" Tatad, Ramon Revilla, Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, Nikki Coseteng, Robert Jaworski, Vicente "Tito" Sotto, and Blas Ople.

The 11 to 10 controversial vote could have been avoided if the Senate Majority Floor Leader Tatad had not preempted Chief Justice Davide, who should have been the one to rule on the issue of whether the second envelope could be opened. Tatad’s too-swift motion, which evidently was a tactical move previously agreed upon in caucus by the 11 senator-judges, was just as quickly seconded by Johnny Ponce Enrile. Under the circumstances, Davide was effectively prevented from making the ruling, which our sources say he was ready to issue. (The pro-administration solons had calculated that Davide was inclined to approve the "opening" of the envelope.)

Before Pimentel cast his vote to "open" the envelope and declare his resignation, he prayed for "Divine guidance" (I’m told) as he usually resorts to prayer before he makes an important decision. Yesterday, although he considered himself "resigned", Pimentel was the voice of reason. Interviewed by Jessica Soho for GMA 7, he said that the impeachment trial must go on, and that the House should resolve the issue of who would be the Congressional prosecutors. There was no trace of bitterness or recrimination in his voice, despite his earlier impassioned resignation.

Speaking at the Greenhills Walking Corporation forum yesterday, Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara paid tribute to Pimentel, regretting his "resignation" and saying that "Nene represents all that is best in the Senate!" Newly-appointed Senior Deputy Executive Secretary (for public affairs) Ramon "Dondon" Bagatsing, who also addressed the breakfast meeting, said to me later that he hoped Pimentel could be prevailed upon to remain Senate President because he is "respected by everybody."

Several senators, in fact, do not want to replace Pimentel not only because they consider him decent and upright but also because, they whispered, they consider the alternatives (Tatad, Enrile and Ople) "unacceptable" – whatever that means. Already, Sen. Sonny Osmeña has been saying that many of the senators don’t want to replace Pimentel.

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To add his own sour note to the occasion, Senator Tatad (whose motion had started the entire fracas rolling) was quoted as sneering that Nene's resignation was "not a proper resignation." Perhaps this view is prompted by the knowledge that a Senate President cannot leave his post until a successor has been elected, since, if I recall, there is an offense called "abandonment of public office."

Nonetheless, Senate observers are chiding Tatad for his sarcastic comment on the Pimentel resignation. Some even ask: Is Tatad "happy" because he wants the Senate Presidency himself?

I won’t impute any such present ambition to Tatad, but it is common knowledge in the Senate that when former Senate President Franklin Drilon quit that position and turned against Estrada, Tatad had campaigned for that vacant seat. He had approached, for one, Senator Johnny Flavier, appealing for Flavier’s vote, alleging that he already had the other necessary votes. Sorry for Kit. By his conduct in the Tuesday night showdown, he evoked the most vitriolic public reaction, along with JPE, Miriam, Sonny, and, of course, Tessie Aquino Oreta who was caught by the TV cameras jumping with joy after the vote, like a triumphant basketball player who had just scored the winning jump-shot. It was a time for sadness, I submit, not for glee.

What next? My crystal ball, I confess, is clouded.

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In yesterday’s troubled hour, Executive Secretary Angara rendered a stellar performance in his appearance before our Greenhills Walking Corporation. What had been intended to be a routine "review" of his plans to help reform Malacañang and the Cabinet, and improve the government’s performance, Angara was the picture of calm and modest confidence.

The forum was held just a block and a half away from the EDSA demonstration, but Edong was unruffled, saying that he had watched the tumultuous early demonstrations up to early morning with the President, and that Erap had been tranquil and not agitated. (He had not delivered his previous feisty remarks about kidlat and the kangkungan.)

Elsewhere in this issue, you’ll find a more comprehensive account of Ed’s remarks and the statistics he enumerated written by Marichu Villanueva, our able Malacañang reporter. I’ll have more to say about Angara’s "garbage" solution, his one-million-hectare crash-program to develop food production and agriculture (like "rice self-sufficiency" by year 2003, etc.). Angara projected solidity, trustworthiness, and a firm grasp of the situation. As I said, he’s more than just a good "deodorant."

Accompanying him, of course, was his capable and – I must say – beautiful longtime assistant and lawyer, who’s now head of the powerful Presidential Management Staff (PMS), Ma. Celia Fernandez. A Bar topnotcher, a B.S. Economics summa cum laude and valedictorian, Macel at 29, came across as poised and unusually articulate about the business of government. She revealed that in her job, in which all contracts above P50 million must be reviewed as well as all appointments and promotions, and everyday staff work must be handled, she meets with the President daily, and with Angara.

I think Edong has mobilized a competent team around himself – but it’s still too early to give a final verdict on that. In spite of the "crisis" in the streets, the forum was jampacked, with the media, too, with hand-held mikes and TV cameras in full attendance (they "ambushed" Edong before and after the forum, too). Sad to say, although our friends there had confirmed they were coming, Radyo ng Bayan never showed up. This no-show, I fear, has become habitual.

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THE ROVING EYE . . . I was with "Chavit" Singson having dinner Tuesday night with a mutual cousin, Romy Reyes, when the news came of Nene Pimentel’s resignation. Chavit remarked that even if Erap is "acquitted", that wouldn’t be the end of his troubles. Singson declared that in the eyes of the public his former "crony" had already been adjudged "guilty." We still hadn’t gotten word when we parted about the demonstration that was forming at EDSA . . . Another person I talked to was former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Lisandro "Boy" Abadia (ret.). He said that he had been talking to his friends in the military, and his impression was that the military would initially stand back and observe what is happening. "Then," he asserted, "when the officers and men get to understand what the people want, they may withdraw their support from the President and Commander-in-Chief." Maybe, Boy Abadia is right about something "brewing." I respect his assessments, but I would have been more prone to think him impartial if I hadn’t spotted him later with an "Erap Resign" sticker on his shirt. How many in the military think the way he does – or will our soldiers remain aloof from politics, serving according to the Constitution? Ever since the late Macoy politicized the military (and showed the generals and their wives what goodies might await them), I’ve never discounted the temptation to "intervention" on the part of the Armed Forces . . . Acting United States Ambassador Mike Malinowski told a luncheon-meeting yesterday noon of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in the Rizal ballroom of the Makati Shangri-la that the US government would always respect the "rule of law" and the Constitutional process in the Philippines. (My translation: We’re standing aside, not meddling – but I also can’t help suspecting it’s a veiled message to America’s "friends" in the Armed Forces, "Please don’t meddle either. Or else, we won’t give you any more bullets.")