IMPEACH BATTLE NOT YET OVER, SHIFTS TO SC
MANILA, NOVEMBER 17, 2007 (STAR) The battle to oust President Arroyo through the impeachment process now shifts to the Supreme Court.Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said yesterday the “impeachment battleground is now the Supreme Court,” following the decision of the House committee on justice to reject the United Opposition’s supplemental pleadings to the impeachment complaint of lawyer Roel Pulido.
“The fault really lies in that Supreme Court ruling, which the House has to follow,” he said in a television interview.
The justice committee had no choice but to reject the pleadings because the SC had ruled more than five years ago that the House cannot entertain a second or third complaint or additional charges after an impeachment case has already been “initiated,” De Venecia said.
The Tribunal laid down the ruling in a case involving Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., who faced impeachment in connection with the alleged misuse of a judiciary fund administered by his son, who was employed in his office.
A large part of the money was used for the purchase of expensive curtains for the office and conference room of Davide, who is now ambassador in the United Nations.
In resolving the case, the SC stopped the House from hearing a revised complaint against Davide since the original complaint had already been referred to the committee on justice and that an impeachment process had already been initiated.
When a process is initiated, the one-year protection from any other case that an impeachable officer enjoys under the Constitution begins, according to the SC.
Had this not been the SC’s ruling, Davide would have been impeached and the charges sent to the Senate for trial since the new complaint was supported by more than one-third of congressmen, mostly belonging to the Nationalist People’s Coalition.
Only one-third of the House membership is needed to send a case to trial.
Invoking the Tribunal’s ruling, the House justice committee chaired by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor rejected last Monday the additional pleadings offered by United Opposition spokesman Adel Tamano.
Two days later, or a day after the Batasan blast, the committee, voting 43-1, killed the Pulido complaint for lack of substance. Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis, lone endorser of the complaint, was the only member who voted against throwing out the case.
The impeachment proceedings against the President are not over until the House as a whole finally votes to reject the case, Defensor said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters at the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel, Defensor said the justice committee’s decision to declare the Pulido complaint as insufficient in form will be submitted to the plenary for final deliberation.
“Theoretically the impeachment case is not yet over,” he said.
If such scenario occurs, the complaint of Pulido will again be deliberated on in the panel for the final draft before it is submitted to the Senate for trial, he added.
However, Defensor expressed doubt if the pro-impeachment lawmakers will get the numbers because during the initial deliberations the minority bloc walked out from the proceedings.
The pro-impeachment bloc needs at least 80 votes for the complaint to be automatically transmitted to the Senate, which will transform into an impeachment court to hear the case, he added.
During the same forum, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman ruled out the possibility that the impeachment case will prosper during the plenary debate.
“It’s nil, as what was shown during the deliberation at the House panel, the impeachment is dead, it must be buried now,” he said.
He is confident that lawmakers will uphold the decision of the justice committee to finally dismiss the impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo, Lagman said.
The committee’s report will be submitted to the plenary for final deliberations on Monday.
The opposition and critics of Mrs. Arroyo have only themselves to blame for the dismissal of their impeachment complaint, Lagman said.
“They are prohibited complaints,” he said.
“I think they know that. They are just trying to get media mileage. People should not sleep on their rights. They have been sleeping on their rights, then they should wake up for one year.” – Jess Diaz, Perseus Echeminada, Delon Porcalla
FG gets clean bill of health By Paolo Romero Saturday, November 17, 2007
First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is expected to be discharged from the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) today following a two-day check-up, his doctor said yesterday.
His doctor gave Arroyo, who underwent triple heart bypass surgery last April, a clean bill of health.
President Arroyo, who spent two nights with her husband at the hospital, also underwent a routine check-up but the results reportedly would be known only today.
She is scheduled to leave on Sunday for Singapore to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
Dr. Rommel Cariño, who was one of the surgeons who operated on Mr. Arroyo, said he can be discharged any time but needs to undergo another major check up six months from now and every six months thereafter for the rest of his life.
He said that based on computerized tomography scan and 2D echo examinations, the damaged section of Mr. Arroyo’s aorta shrunk, indicating that the wound was healing.
He added the First Gentleman gained five pounds but his cholesterol and blood pressure levels were within tolerable levels. Mr. Arroyo also underwent other tests, including blood sugar examinations.
The President left SLMC yesterday at around 8 a.m. to attend Mass with lawmakers and returned to the hospital after lunch.
Since his heart surgery, the First Gentleman has been visiting SLMC twice a week for physical therapy.
Doctors have advised him to lessen his workload and avoid stressful situations.
Mrs. Arroyo has been admitted to the hospital a few times since last year for various ailments including intestinal flu, which her doctors said could have been due to her heavy workload.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2007
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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