House votes to impeach Ombudsman

In an overwhelming fashion the house of representatives voted to impeach Merceditas Gutierrez. 210 voted to impeach while 47 went against and 4 abstentions among those Congressmen present. Only 94 votes were needed to pass the impeachment resolution as suggested by the House Justice Committee.

As expected, most of the party list congressmen voted for the impeachment. Surprising were the votes of Congressman Quimbo of Marikina who used to be with the government of former President Arroyo and Congressman Roman Romulo who is a Lakas stalwart. The votes were delivered just after 12:00 midnight.

With the passing of the resolution, the impeachment proceeding against the embattled Ombudsman has been set in motion. The Senate has already indicated that the impeachment proceedings will only start sometime in May based on their schedule. The House of Representatives will have to deliver their decision and the Ombudsman will still have time to answer before the actual impeachment process where the Senators seat as jurors will hear the case. If we follow the impeachment form using the impeachment of former President Estrada as an example, it will be a long drawn affair. Chief Justice Corona will seat as presiding judge and the 23 senators as jurors.

The Prosecution Panel from the House of Representatives may be led by Congressman Neil Tupas Jr. who has been accused of impartiality by Congressman Augusto Syjuco during the House hearings. He will be assisted by Congressman Farinas and other Congressmen. The defense will probably be led by former Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas and other law luminaries.

Some sectors have questioned the fairness with which the House of Representatives had hastened the impeachment process. Senator Joker Arroyo has warned the House Prosecution Panel to be prepared as he noted some weakness in their case. Four Senators will be voting against Merceditas Gutierrez based on party lines – Drillon, Guingona, Pangilinan. Trillanes will surely vote against her based on the Pestano Case.

Meanwhile employees in the Office of the Ombudsman had already expected the decision and look forward to the Senators being fair in the impeachment process moreso when the actual facts of the cases are explained and shown to the jurors. They noted that they could not expect any fairness from the House of Representatives most specially since 117 of those who voted had pending cases with the Office of the Ombudsman. At least sa Senado alam namin magiging PATAS sila. Impeachment of the Ombudsman would require at least 16 votes or 2/3rds of the Senate.

It is not known whether Merceditas Gutierrez would take a leave of absence to prepare for the actual impeachment hearings and leave the day to day affairs of running the Office of the Ombudsman to Deputy Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni.

Malacanang for its part has lauded the move in the House of Representatives but has softened its position in so far as the results of the impeachment in the Senate. Secretary Carandang noted that they have uncovered so many anomalies that if the Ombudsman is not impeached by the Senate, they would just wait until 2012 when they would file the appropriate cases against the Arroyo Government officials. 2012 is when Gutierrez retires from public office.

Arroyo advises Tupas – limit cases

Senator Joker Arroyo has advised the House of Representatives to concentrate on only 2 of the strongest cases for the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. It is not the not the volume of evidence, but the quality of evidence that will count according to the Senator who led the prosecution panel in the impeachment proceedings of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.

Of the 150 Congressmen who have so far agreed on the impeachment move, 117 have pending cases with the Ombudsman. This includes Congressman Neil Tupas Jr. himself whose father, a former Governor of Iloilo has a pending case surrounding the construction of the Iloilo Airport. A lynch-mob is how one journalist described the Congressmen! They want to save their own necks by making the Ombudsman and the prosecutors disappear. They have to remember that it was not the Ombudsman who initiated the cases but private citizens from their own provinces. The Congress is set to vote in plenary on Wednesday March 16. How Can Tupas himself lead the Prosecution quipped Congressman Syjuco when he is considered tainted and biased? He will make the House of Representatives look stupid!

In the Senate, only 5 to 6 Senators are confirmed to vote against Gutierrez. These are Senator Francis Pangilinan, Senator Franklin Drillon, Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Senator Teofisto Guingona, Trillanes, Jinggoy and Miriam. Senator Enrile, Senate President has assured the Ombudsman that the Senate will be fair in hearing the impeachment case which slated to be heard in May and if Arroyo is correct will be a long drawn affair.

The President has ordered the Liberal Party to support the impeachment move. Other officials in the administration had advised the beleaguered Ombudsman to just resign. For her part, the Ombudsman who is popularly supported by her office personnel and some sectors had stated that she would never resign from her sworn oath to defend the interest of the Filipino people.