Pro-admin solons heed PNoy on Merci impeachment case

Allies of President Benigno Aquino III in the House of Representatives on Monday rallied behind his call to support the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez for supposedly betraying public trust by sitting on cases against high-ranking government officials under the Arroyo administration. The impeachment case will serve as a benchmark for those who are for or against the people, President Aquino said in a gathering of the Liberal Party in Quezon City. “Eto na ang sukatan. Totoo ba tayo sa mga kumalinga sa atin, o pababayaan natin sila? (The time of reckoning has come. Have we stayed true to those who had taken care of us, or shall we turn our backs on them?)," the President said. “Siyempre sino ba ang naghahanap ng away? Pero itong away na ito, hindi puwedeng atrasan ito na hindi tayo taksil sa ating mga kababayan (Of course, who’d go out his way looking for a fight? But this fight is something one cannot retreat from without being traitors to our fellow Filipinos)," the President added. Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, Liberal Party (LP) secretary-general, said the party has adopted a unified stand endorsing the impeachment case against the Ombudsman to go to trial in the Senate. “The LP party stand is to support the impeachment case. The 80 LP members are expected to vote for the impeachment," he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. LP-bloc vote a tipping point The party’s decision to vote as a bloc against Gutierrez could very well sway the House’s ruling on the complaint. “That is definitely a tipping point as far as numbers are concerned, but we cannot be complacent. The challenge is to have all supporters present on the floor when voting day comes," Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, one of those who endorsed an impeachment case against the Ombudsman, said in a text message to GMA News Online. “We are at a crossroads," President Aquino told LP stalwarts during a meeting at the Balay Expo in Quezon City. “Binigay ng Saligang Batas sa inyo ang karapatan… Dito, isa lang ang dapat mangyari, kailangang manalo ang sambayanan (The Constitution gave you the right… In this, only one thing should happen, the public at large must win)," he said in a speech. “Kayo ‘yung piskal. Imbestigahan natin. May ginawa bang kasalanan ‘to o hindi? May probable cause ba? Kung may probable cause, obligasyon n'yo na isampa ang articles of impeachment, dalhin sa Senado," (You are the prosecutor. Let’s investigate. Was there any wrongdoing? Is there probable cause? Because if there is probable cause, your obligation is to file the articles of impeachment, and bring that to the Senate)," he added. According to Section 3, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the impeachment complaint against the Ombudsman must get a one-third vote by all sitting House members – in this case, at least 94 affirmative votes – before it can be transmitted to the Senate for trial. Apart from the LP bloc, seven members of militant party-lists groups Bayan Muna, Association of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Gabriela, Kabataan, and Anakpawis are expected to support the impeachment case. The House committee on justice is scheduled to determine if there is probable cause to impeach Gutierrez during a hearing Tuesday. Threats to discourage impeach move Aquino warned his partymates they will be threatened and discouraged to push through with the impeachment. “Lahat ng paraan gagawin. May pananakot, ifa-fast track ‘yung mga kasong naka-pending, gagawan kayo ng panibagong kaso. Pero iyon ang point. ‘Eto yung parte ng tungkulin. Ang choice simpleng-simple: Iwan natin ganito ka-bulok ang sistema, o nandiyan naman 'yung pruweba, panindigan natin to," he said. (They will resort to anything. There will be intimidation, pending cases will be fast-tracked, new cases will be made. But that’s the point. This is all part of the obligation. The choice to be made is quite simple: Let the system stay rotten this way, or let us stand firm on the evidence.) Aquino tagged the Office of the Ombudsman as a tool that had been used to advance the interests of some people allied with the former administration. “Now, may pagkakataon tayo. Pagkakatagal-tagal ginamit na political tool itong Ombudsman's office. Kalaban ka ng administrasyon dati, fast track ang kaso mo. 'Pag kakampi ka naman, ide-delay na, wala pang nakikita, walang sasabihin, sa dulo, ipi-plea bargain ka pa," the President said. (The time has come. The Ombudsman’s office has long been used as a political tool. If you were against the former administration, cases against you would be fast-tracked. But if you were a supporter, cases against you would be delayed, overlooked, unmentioned, and in the end, you can even get a plea bargaining agreement.) “She has been given so many chances," he said, noting that other government agencies may be able to bring people behind bars. But at the end of the day, the Ombudsman “will condone everything that they did, forget that we would be able to transform society, forget that we will change it." — VS/MRT/PE/KBK, GMA News