Aquino lauds House members who impeached Ombudsman

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Tuesday lauded the members of House of Representatives who voted to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Aquino referred to Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III and Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep Bernadette Herrera-Dy as “our heroes today." The two attended the joint program on millennium development goal achievement and World Water Day celebrations held in Pasay City Tuesday morning where Aquino was the guest speaker. Voting 212-46 on early Tuesday morning, the House approved the articles of impeachment against Gutierrez due to low conviction rate of the Office of the Ombudsman during her term and supposed inaction on high profile cases. Aquino did not grant an interview with the media after the event but his spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, in a statement, welcomed the action of the House. “By doing so, the House has put an end to the long era of impunity that tarnished our institutions and made a mockery of the bedrock principle of accountability enshrined in our Constitution," Lacierda said. “This is the glory of democracy: where the law applies to all, where scrutiny exempts no one, and where accountability is for our institutions to exact," he added. The articles of impeachment have to be sent to the Senate which will convene itself into an impeachment court that will hear Gutierrez's case. – VVP, GMA News