Palace keeps hands off possible impeach raps vs Ombudsman

Malacañang is keeping its hands off moves to pursue impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who is closely associated with former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This was announced by presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Tuesday, emphasizing that the current administration is not persecuting Gutierrez, a batch mate of former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo at the Ateneo Law School. "The rule of law will be applicable to all," Lacierda said. He also denied that the moves against Gutierrez are part of a "payback" plan by the Aquino administration. “There is no persecution in so far as the government is concerned. Some other civil society groups or sectoral groups like Akbayan would want to file a case of impeachment against the Ombudsman precisely because of her past decisions which tends to favor former the former first family," he added. Lacierda also clarified that he was merely engaging in an "academic discussion" when the issue was raised in last week’s media briefing. The matter will be left to the House of Representatives should a case be filed, he said. "There was a question posed of whether her (Gutierrez) association would be a ground for impeachment and I said it depends on the House of Representatives, how they appreciate the evidence, so it’s up to the House," Lacierda said. Moreover, since the Office of the Ombudsman is independent of the executive branch, it is irrelevant to ask whether Gutierrez has the trust of President Benigno Aquino III, Lacierda said. He added that the Palace is focused on establishing the Truth Commission so that it could probe controversies that hounded the previous administration. The Truth Commission can collect evidence, and build a strong case that the Ombudsman will be unable to ignore, he said. “We emphasize the need for the Truth Commission to gather solid evidence so that whether the Ombudsman, be it Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez or some other person, the case will hold, the case will stand and the case will further be prosecuted," he said. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV