Merci impeachment a test case for PHL – Escudero

The impeachment case against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is a test case for the Philippines on whether betrayal of public trust is a solid ground for impeachment, Senator Francis Escudero said Thursday. The grounds for removing the Ombudsman from office are "culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust," according to Article XI, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution. The House of Representatives had earlier deemed Gutierrez should be removed from her post for betraying public trust when she failed to act on high-profile cases pending with the Office of the Ombudsman. It is only in the Philippines that betrayal of public trust is cited as ground for impeachment, Escudero said during Thursday's weekly forum at the Senate. Only in the Philippines "Sa Konstitusyon lamang natin matatagpuan ‘yan. So, magandang test case din ito… Ano ba ang sumasaklaw nito? Ano ba ang ibig sabihin nito? Ano ba ang mga krimen, pagkukulang o mga gawain na puwede nating isaklaw sa terminong betrayal of the public trust? " he said. (Only in our Constitution can you see that. So, this is a good test case… What does it encompass? What does it mean? What are the crimes, shortcomings or deeds that we can cover under the term betrayal of public trust?) As such, Escudero said the impeachment case is a big challenge for the prosecutors to prove that there really was betrayal of public trust. "They should convince us and the public that delay in acting of a case, equals betrayal of public trust," he said. There are also officials of the Supreme Court and the Commission on Elections as well as impeachable public servants who have tons of pending cases before them, like Gutierrez. "Is that a ground? Again, they have to explain it. They have to present it. We have to see it beyond this case," he said. Escudero, however, declined to comment on whether he himself thinks that the case against Gutierrez is weak or strong. The House of Representatives had earlier identified six allegations that constitute the articles of impeachment against the Ombudsman:

1. The Office of the Ombudsman has performed dismally as shown by the low conviction rate achieved by the office.
2. The unreasonable failure to take prompt and immediate action on complaints filed against various public officials, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and [husband] Jose Miguel Arroyo regarding the NBN-ZTE broadband project.
3. The inexcusable delay of the Ombudsman in conducting and concluding its investigation into the wrongful death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño aboard a Philippine navy vessel.
4. [Her] inaction in the matter of the Fertilizer Fund Scam;
5. inaction in the matter of the Mega Pacific deal; and
6. inaction in the matter of the “Euro Generals" issue.

Article XI, Section 3 of the Philippine Constitution specifically states that "no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate." Under the Senate rules of impeachment procedure, Gutierrez may be removed from office if her impeachment is sustained even under just one article. "All it takes is one conviction to remove an impeachable officer from office," Escudero said. Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III had earlier said that the Senate is expected to covene as an impeachment court when Congress resumes next May 9. -VS, GMA News