House resumes impeachment proceedings vs. Ombudsman

UPDATED 11:30 a.m. - The House Committee on Justice on Tuesday resumed the hearings on the impeachment complaints filed against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. The lawmakers are set to determine in Tuesday’s proceeding if there is a probable cause to impeach Gutierrez from her post. In a letter sent to the House panel, Gutierrez appealed to the lawmakers to defer action on the impeachment complaints because she asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider her petition to stop the impeachment proceedings. As the hearing began on Tuesday, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano entered a motion not to continue with the hearing because of Gutierrez’s motion for reconsideration. However, Albano's proposal was junked by majority of the committee with a 37-8 vote. "Let us continue with these proceedings. Let us not be stopped by the Ombudsman's dilatory tactics. Let us move on," said Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, who endorsed one of the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez. The House panel likewise decided to enter a “general denial" on Gutierrez’s behalf due to her failure to attend and submit an answer to the impeachment complaints before the committee. A majority of the members of the House justice committee is needed to approve the grounds for the Ombudsman’s impeachment. If the committee finds sufficient grounds to impeach the Ombudsman, both Gutierrez and the complainants will present pieces of evidence to support their cases in hearings on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Resumption of hearings Last week, the House committee on justice voted to resume the hearings on the impeachment complaints against the Ombudsman. In a 21-5 vote, the House panel approved a motion, filed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, to give Gutierrez an additional three days to answer the impeachment complaints against her. The House decision effectively resumed the proceedings on the impeachment complaints against the Ombudsman. The House move came more than a week after the Supreme Court (SC) allowed the House committee on justice to continue hearing the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez. In its February 15 ruling, the SC said the Ombudsman was not denied due process, as she had claimed, because she can answer the charges against her before the House panel. However, Gutierrez criticized the House's decision to resume the proceedings. She said the House panel should wait for the SC to render a final decision because she has until March 5 to appeal the SC's decision. Impeachment moves Two separate impeachment complaints were filed last year by party-list group Akbayan and militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN). The groups accused the Ombudsman of alleged betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution. Appointed as Ombudsman in 2005, Gutierrez has been accused of protecting former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. The groups accused Gutierrez of allegedly sitting on cases where the former First Couple have been implicated. Gutierrez and Mr. Arroyo were batch mates at the Ateneo School of Law. Akbayan's impeachment complaint listed the following as alleged wrongdoings committed by the Ombudsman:

Alleged failure to act promptly on cases filed against the Arroyo couple and other public officials involved in the overpriced $329-million national broadband network deal, which Mrs. Arroyo suspended in September 2007;

Incurring inexcusable delay in the investigation on the death of Ensign Philip Pestaño, with the United Nations even calling the Ombudsman to task for failure to probe the case;

Issuing a decision to uphold the legality of the arrest and involuntary detention of Hontiveros by the Philippine National Police in 2005;

Failure to investigate the P1-million dinner for Mrs. Arroyo's presidential party at the Le Cirque restaurant in New York;

Repeated failure to take prompt action on various cases involving Mrs. Arroyo such as the Mega-Pacific scam, among others;

Refusal to grant ready access to public records such as the Statement of Assets, Net Worth and Liabilities of former Pampanga Rep. and incumbent Ang Galing Pinoy pary-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo. – VVP, GMA News