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House minority to bring impeach bid to SC
source : GMANews.tv   
Sunday, 04 November 2007 17:54
Admitting that taking part in the impeachment process any further is an exercise in futility, the opposition bloc in the House of Representatives will seek redress before the Supreme Court in their bid to impeach President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

House Minority Leader Rep. Ronaldo Zamora said Monday he and fellow minority congressmen will ask the high tribunal to see how Malacañang's allies have distorted its ruling on the impeachment process.

"We will file an appeal before the Supreme Court. We want to let them see how their ruling is being used to mock the impeachment process," Zamora said in Filipino on dzEC radio.

He was referring to a Supreme Court ruling that an impeachment complaint, once filed in the Lower House, cannot be amended, supplemented or consolidated.
 Any attempted amendment will be treated as a second complaint and thus be voided as the Constitution rules that complaints cannot be filed within one year of each other.

"I don't know if we even have to do anything. The whole nation knows this is degenerating into one big joke," Zamora said.

Zamora said that in this case, the impeachment complaint lodged by lawyer Roberto Rafael Pulido – described by the opposition as a "weak" complaint – will likely be junked in the Lower House.

"It is clear the Constitution is being mocked. In the coming days the committee on justice will just junk Pulido's complaint. Then the Palace's allies will crow that the rule of law has triumphed. But what really triumphed is the mockery of the Constitution," he said.

"No matter what we say or do or even if we present proof, what can we do?" he asked.

Zamora said the minority bloc is now coordinating with its lawyers to file a possible appeal or motion before the high court.

He maintained that the minority will keep its hands off the power play involving House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr and the latter's allies.

De Venecia supposedly ironed out kinks in his relations with President Arroyo during a Saturday night meeting in Malacañang.

"That's the game of the majority. We will remain in the minority. We will continue to fiscalize the government. Whatever they want to do with De Venecia, that's their problem," Zamora said.

Last Sunday, Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor, chairman of House committee on rules, said any amended or supplemental impeachment complaint against the President will not be accepted.

Defensor told GMA News that this was the consensus of congressmen after reviewing the Pulido complaint.

For his part, Genuine Opposition spokesman Adel Tamano said what the Constitution prohibits is multiple impeachment proceedings, and not multiple complaints.

The United Opposition earlier said it would file a "stronger" complaint on Monday at the resumption of sessions in Congress.

This is despite an earlier impeachment complaint filed before the chamber last October 5 by Pulido.

The opposition's lawyers had said they were threshing out details of their impeachment complaint, especially on how it could "fortify" Pulido's complaint.

Pardoned former President Joseph Estrada on Saturday said he supports the plan of the opposition to file a stronger impeachment complaint against Mrs Arroyo.

However, Estrada said he would let opposition lawmakers prepare the complaint.

Malacañang also on Saturday downplayed Estrada's reported support to impeachment complaint.

Radio station DZBB reported that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the opposition is just reviving the issue for media mileage.

Ermita said the Palace knows there is a process to be followed in impeaching the President.

He said an impeachment complaint has already been initiated in the House of Representatives and members of the opposition need to wait for the one-year ban to lapse before they could file fresh complaint. - GMANews.TV
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