House panel gives Merci last chance to defend self

(Updated 12:31 a.m., March 3) The House justice committee on Wednesday gave Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez one last chance to defend herself at the lower chamber before it votes if there is probable cause to impeach the official from her post. Iloilo 5th district Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., chairman of the House panel, gave Gutierrez’s camp until Friday to submit their affidavits and pieces of evidence to answer allegations of the Ombudsman’s inaction in several high profile cases brought to her office. Tupas added that Gutierrez must personally appear before the panel during the clarificatory hearings on Tuesday next week if she chooses to execute an affidavit to answer the impeachment complaints filed against her. “Paulit-ulit na, parang sirang plaka na ‘yung committee of justice. Sobra-sobra nang liberal kay Ombudsman. Kung hindi pa siya mag-attend sa Martes, paano namin mako-consider ‘yung ebidensiya niya?" he told reporters Wednesday. Tupas said that there is a strong possibility for the committee to vote on the probable cause of the impeachment complaints on March 8, especially if the Ombudsman fails to attend the proceedings. The House justice panel conducted clarificatory hearings on Wednesday to allow private citizens who filed the impeachment complaints against Gutierrez last year to present evidence to support their cases. Among those who testified during the hearings were former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, BAYAN secretary general Renato Reyes, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) secretary general Danilo Ramos, and former Solicitor General Frank Chavez. (See: Impeachment complainant: Merci betrayed Filipinos' trust) Gutierrez's counsel, lawyer Anacleto Diaz, earlier in the day said their camp will not “avoid or skirt the proceedings" despite the motion for reconsideration that they filed at the Supreme Court. Diaz vowed to answer the two impeachment complaints filed against his client, and asked the House panel to give them until Friday to file their response. (See: Ombudsman’s lawyer: We will not skirt House proceedings) If the committee finds probable cause to impeach Gutierrez, the impeachment cases, which Tupas said will be consolidated into a single complaint, will be transmitted to the plenary for another round of voting. The panel would have to sift through all the testimonies and pieces of evidence presented in the hearing, as some of them may be “inadmissible," the House justice committee chairperson likewise said. “Kung strictly rules and evidence, maraming mga witnesses na hindi papayagan. Kasi under the rules and evidence, kailangan personal knowledge. ‘Yung ibang nag-testify kanina, wala silang personal knowledge," he said in explaining that strictly toeing by the rules, many of the witnesses who did not have personal knowledge of the case would not have been allowed to testify. The committee was just being “liberal" since the impeachment hearings were political proceedings and not criminal in nature, according to the chairman. The real “impact" of the testimonies will only be seen if the impeachment complaints will reach trial stage at the Senate, he said. According to Section 3, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the impeachment complaint against the Ombudsman will have to get a one-third vote of all House members, before it can be transmitted to the Senate for trial.—JV/VS, GMA News