July 24, 2006 · Posted in: Arroyo Impeachment, Congress Watch, In the News, SONA
Lawmaker insists new impeachment complaints filed ‘prematurely’
AS various religious and civic groups filed another impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo hours before she delivered her State of the Nation Address today, a lawmaker dismissed it, and the others before it, as a “mere scrap of paper.”
Rep. Edcel Lagman, House deputy majority floor leader, claimed that all complaints filed between June 25 and July 24, 2006 are “prohibited complaints” because these were all filed before the one-year bar rule has expired.
“The initiation of an impeachment complaint entails a process which commences with the filing of the complaint and culminates in the receipt of the complaint by the Committee on Justice to which it is referred,” Lagman explained, “The new impeachment complaints were interposed prematurely.”
The Albay representative said that although lawyer Oliver Lozano filed the very first impeachment complaint on June 27, 2005, the complaint was referred to the Committee on Justice on July 26, 2005 at 4:20 in the afternoon.
The Lozano complaint was later amended by the House minority and endorsed by 51 congressmen. A third complaint was filed by lawyer Jose Rizaldo Reyes.
During the committee hearings on the impeachment complaints, it was Lagman who insisted on first resolving “prejudicial questions” in order to determine which complaint(s) shall be subject to its jurisdiction.
This year, a citizen-led impeachment complaint was filed on June 26 in anticipation of the lapse of the one-year bar. Former vice president Teofisto Guingona, together with 17 other complainants, filed a second impeachment complaint the next day. This was followed by three other complaints, one filed by Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez and another by retired military officers. The latest was endorsed by South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio.
All of the complaints were immediately transmitted to Speaker Jose de Venecia as Congress opened its third regular session this afternoon. De Venecia said he would need another 10 days to review the complaints before transmitting the complaint to the Justice committee.
At least two more impeachment complaints will be filed in the next three days, according to a report.
The President’s laywer, Romulo Makalintal, has also asked the House of Representatives to junk the new impeachment complaints since the old one is still “alive.”
Lagman said that under Section 3(5) of Article XI of the Constitution, no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.
The Supreme Court has also issued similar rulings, Lagman said, as in the case of Ernesto Francisco Jr. in 2003. In this case, the Court ruled:
Having concluded that the initiation takes place by the act of filing and referral or endorsement of the impeachment complaint to the House Committee on Justice or, by the filing of at least one-third of the members of the House of Representatives with the Secretary General of the House, the meaning of Section 3(5) of Article XI becomes clear. Once an impeachment complaint has been initiated, another impeachment complaint may not be filed against the same officials within a one year period.
Petitioners however have recently asked the high tribunal to urgently decide on the unsettled issues of last year’s impeachment. In particular, they are asking the Court to invalidate the House of Representatives’ outright dismissal of all impeachment complaints against Arroyo for lack of substance.
Still, the President’s allies are confident that the second impeachment case is “doomed to fail because the opposition peddled a weak complaint riddled with fabricated evidence.” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also said that the new complaint “will be junked again” as it is a “desperate move by a conspiracy of self-serving interests.”
The charges in the new complaint include corruption, massive cheating in the 2004 elections, widespread killings of activists and journalists, and the use of dictatorial powers.
17 Responses to Lawmaker insists new impeachment complaints filed ‘prematurely’
jester-in-exile
July 25th, 2006 at 11:16 am
but i thought these people said that this issue was already dead?
make up your minds, fools.
joselu
July 25th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Jester, don’t get pikon but I also know that the SC has not come down w/ a decision yet.
That is why the opposition is fileing so many “entries” for the raffle, i mean mga complaints.
Why does it take ages for the SC to come down w/ a ruling?
I think ikaw ang may maling akala.
jester-in-exile
July 25th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
oh don’t worry, joselu, i don’t get pikon, nor do i make tusok-tusok the fishball, nor would i get awa over fools who think i do.
at any rate, you might want to go over the various quotes of bunye, ermita, defensor, makalintal, masa bansa et al, about how the impeachment issue is “dead in the water,” “not something the people want,” et cetera. my point is, if such fools keep on saying that there is no point to the impeachment, why are these same fools a) trying to use technicalities to bar impeachment proceedings b) support other fools doing so?
if the former complaint is “alive,” why can’t it be revisited? else, why are these fools scared of another impeachment complaint?
(i’m glad to see that your spelling is starting to improve.)
joselu
July 25th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
persoanly, yes, i think the impeachment is dead in the water in anyway.
it is also a fact that thye SC must still come down w/ a ruling on last years impeachment filed by the oppostion in their desperation w/c today is also creating some tech. problems, thanks to the opposition.
sadly, the law & politics is about so much bs technicalities.it’s really a brutal reality.persoanly i think the less complicated matters are the better for them to succeed.
remember the erap impeachment.in a way it was a technicality why the envelop was not opened. only thing is it was also the fuse that started things.
in the case of gma, like it or not, a very good number of pinoys don’t think an impeachment will really make our lives better.personaly, i think it’s a battle of people fighting for power & gma’s kalabans getting back at her.but surely it will not make our lives any better.
actually this entire impeachment thing is really more of a endurance fight for the opposition & the administration to take in stride all the oppositions antics.it’s turning to be another form of street demonstration composed of noise & spreding so much misery to people who just wanna have a life.remember, it did not pass last year at the heat of the battle.did anyone see any angry reaction from society, except of course those forever pushing for it, non that i can remember.it’s really dead in the water also this year.because of the same issues.gma is not perfect, so who is the alternative?
jester-in-exile
July 25th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
anyone who wouldn’t cheat to win would be a valid alternative.
heck, even me.
jr_lad
July 25th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
right jester. i’ll even vote for joselu. i’m sure he/she is not a cheater unlike somebody we know. and for as long as he/she remains objective.
joselu
July 25th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
jester, don’t forget our system is so rutten & like it or not everybody cheats in varying degrees.it happens everyday in so many forms.our problems a deeply rooted in society & our attitudes.
I don’t know if it matters to you but even winnie m. admits that gma won fairly & squarely, normaly she is a no non sence person.
persoanly, i think she really did win because people voted for continuity & it is those same number of people that have not given their support to topple her.
jester-in-exile
July 25th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
everybody’s a cheat? you’re a cheat, i’m a cheat, he’s a cheat, she’s a cheat… we’re a country of 85 million cheats?
in that case, we’re not of the same citizenship.
you’re probably right, and i’m sure that gudani et al are all liars. (cheats, as well, of course.)
yup, we’re not only a nation of cheats — we’re a nation of masochists, wanting to continue to inflict GMA on our lives. we’re a nation who would rather accept pre-filled out election returns as genuine. we’re a nation who accepts a lip-service apology over a call for accountability.
or, rather, your nation.
joselu
July 26th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Jester, I don’t know what you do for a leaveing or how in contqact you are w/ brutal everyday realities.
But my point is people will cheat given the oppurtunity. It’s up to those who are supposed to know better to think of systems to minimize the occurance of cheating.
I’m for the parlamentary system also because it will didramatize elections.I’m sure it will lessen to a great extent cheating.
Remember cheating is only a consequence of things that are not well though of.
When I go around & talk w/ people many times I get so shocked by the things people do w/o even knowing its wrong but insted comes second nature to them.
cheating is a consequeence of mind-sets & attitudes.It’s not the cheating that is the roots.lets look at the roots.
Jester, I have my doubts about all those people.How well do we really know them.How sure are we about their intensions.In a way in our society “talk is cheap”.Personaly, at times things in our society are labobo and gulo that in relaity it’s so hard to say who is really telling the truth.
Jester perhaps you have “first hand knowldge” of matters. I know I don’t have the sort of facts that you think you have.
Unpopular as i can be w/ the position that I take. I think that like so many others all the jumping into conclussions & emmosions are far from enough to prove things.
All i know is if we want to change things.We have to change our mind-sets & attitudes first or else we will just grow old & frustrated w/ all the things around us we can’t change.we will just drown in so much details & never get things done anyway. we will just end-up seeing everything black.
I knowi’m very unpopular w/ what i say but i also am not after popularity.I’m sure that the right things are never popular especialy in a very “popularistic” society like ours.
jester-in-exile
July 26th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
joselu,
i’m rather glad that i’m not one of your people, then. cheating is dishonorable.
perhaps you’re right, i’m not in touch with reality — such that i refuse to use the services of a fixer when having my bike registered, such that i refuse to pad my liquidation sheet with expenses that i didn’t incur, such that even if i’m a puppie — poor urban professional — i don’t make gulang the poor bus conductor by saying i’m getting off at guadalupe when i’m really going to get off at crossing.
you’re right — i’m so far out of touch with reality that i don’t do those things.
brutal everyday realities, my foot. thus far your level of logic is as free of flaws as your spelling.
but back to the topic.
if the complaints are weak and the evidence fabricated, why won’t GMA and her minions let the complaints run their course?
scaredycats.
joselu
July 26th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Jester, so your a cool & honest guy & that is great.And everyday I too met so many honest pinoys.
But it’s not just about being good & doing your bit.
Human nature is weak & it will always fall to all sorts of things.Cheating or being carried away by emotions & confuseing ideas.Obviosly no one is perfect but we can’t go on leaveing w/ the galit sa mundo attiutude.
I too am not the type who tries to get away w/ things or even push my weight around.I too get so azar w/ the pinoy driving habits & all the gulangang on the road. I too pay all the people who work for me even more then just min. wage although I don’t have too.But that also does not mean I don’t see all the unresonable things happening around me everyday.But I have to see things also in prespective.
Anyway, I think the complaint is running it’s course.
I think now it’s in the justice commite.
I think it has something to do about the rules.The very rules that the opposition agreed on.
It’s a political proceses.
The bottom line is that the opposition must have the numbers. No numbers then it goes no where too.
Actually the opposition has 2 ways of making it pass; 1) the numbers 2) substance to convince the justice commitee.
beleave me the minions won’t let it past.
Because that complaint may be full of all sorts of accusations. Proving them is another thing. An impeachment is not a “fishing expedition”.
Talk is cheap in this country & accusation come a dime a dozen.
Impeachment gets juncked as it will & life will go on because we really have better things to do.
Sad to say but I have the impression that the opposition is playing so much w/ peoples emotions & giving false hopes as if crating a false filling of dissapointment in the people.Because just as it did not pass last year why should it pass now & the what’s after question has never been answered.
jr_lad
July 26th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
“… people will cheat given the opportunity.”
just like what gma did in the last election?
like the opportunity to assign garci in the comelec.
like the opportunity to use the generals during election?
like the opportunity to assign joc-joc bolante to handle the fertilizer funds.
“Remember cheating is only a consequence of things that are not well though of.
When I go around & talk w/ people many times I get so shocked by the things people do w/o even knowing its wrong but insted comes second nature to them.
cheating is a consequeence of mind-sets & attitudes…”
thanks joselu for the enlightenment. i realized cheating is not so bad afterall. now i’m not so shocked why gloria did it. the planning was not well thought of. maybe she did not know cheating is wrong… and it just comes second nature to her just like the others.
i feel much better now about cheating. infact, i’ll go try to cheat on my wife. try to create my own opportunity. then if i get caught i’ll pretend i didn’t know it’s wrong… “well, cheating is just a consequense of mindsets and attitude.”
Huseng Bulag
July 26th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
joselu, I just hope and pray that you are speaking for yourself and your kind when you said that “like it or not everybody cheats in varying degrees.” It’s an insult to us who are trying to live honorable lives and teach our children to do the same.
Narrowing down our discussion to the 2004 elections, do you have proofs that Roco cheated? or FPJ? God bless their souls. Or Bro. Eddie? You’re so pathetic, joselu, that you’re dragging everybody down including the dead in your effort to obscure the smuck in your president’s face. She cheated, she stole the votes, she should rightfully be in jail and not in Malacañang. She remains there and continue to pull the country down with her because of people like you – who refuse to carry the torch of idealism, high principle, and strong moral values. You want us to move on? Accept the stealing, the cheating and the lying? If a thief comes into your house in the dead of the night, are you willing to do things he commands? If we do this, what legacy shall we leave to the succeeding generation?
No system is perfect. It’s the people running the system that’s rotten. I suggest that you quit on what you’re smoking before you self-destruct into a poor excuse of a human being.
Uniffors- Life in Gloria’s Enchanted Kingdom » Lagman wields wire-hanger again
July 27th, 2006 at 12:30 am
[…] PCIJ reported that Rep. Edcel Lagman, the man who furnished the wire hanger called “prejudicial questions” for last year’s abortion of the impeachment complaint against Arroyo, says the rusty tool can still be used for yet another abortion. Read PCIJ report HERE. […]
mac.bh
July 27th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
I really do not understand our political system:
1. The president is directly elected by the people, yet impeachment is by the Senate and Congress.
2. The People elected congress and senate as representatives to the executive and yet when something is wrong people rally in front of the Palace not with their representatives who made those errors or support them.
3. When new laws are passed like VAT that the people are against they rally against the president not against the senators and congressman who studied and passed them.
4. The people expect the Commission of Election to be honest and non partisan, and yet the system is appointing them via the president whom the Philippines custom suggest “Utang na Loob” will play an important role later.
5. We want the Supreme Court unbiased pero sino ba ang nag appoint sa mga position nila? The president again! Utang na loob na naman yan!
Ang laking kamalian ng sistema na eto! Kaya tayo magulo! Eto ang mga panukala ngayon:
1. The president is directly elected by the people therefore it is also right that impeachment be done via direct voting too! Di na kailangan ang raly sa mga lansangan at malakanyang pag ganyan. Duon na lang ang mga rally sa mga capitol ng Province.
2. Abolish the Senate and let Congress be subject to impeachment too via direct voting of their constituent any time of the year. One Province one congressman. With this the balimbing will be demolished as they will serve their constituent rather than the president. Pork barrel too will be demolished with this system. The main positive result of this system is that partisan politics will be minimized. The party will not be the main issue, the main issue now will be how good the congressman serve it’s constituent.
3. When laws are passed that people are against, impeach the representatives (and the senator), and request the new elected representative to scrap that law.
4. Abolish the current Commission on Election and let the people directly vote the commissioner. One Commissioner per Province. If something wrong happened in a certain province during the election, then we can easily pinpoint who is responsible with that province. Impeachment can easily be done province by province, a less expensive exercise. Counting of ballot should be done by Province, not by cities not by municipality.
5. Justices should be appointed by the Congressman (by voting) not by the president. Justices should be banned from political comments.
6. Requires all government officials to use Philippine made products. Lapis, papel, damit sasakyan at kung ano ano pa. Yung malakanyang at opisina ng mga govenrment officials dapat ang palamuti niyan mga gawang pinoy Dapat sila and unang mag promote ng produkto ng pilipinas. Kung di nila kaya yan wala silang karapatan na mamuno sa pilipinas.
7. The President and the congressman should declare their asset and net worth prior to election and must rely solely on the government salaries and allowances during the tenure of office with the benefit of free medical and school for children. At the end of his tenure an audit should be performed any excess of the declared asset and net worth and, any additional properties acquire during his/her tenure should be confiscated in favor of the central bank or dept. of finance. Kung ayaw nila yan wala silang karapatan na maglingkod.
8. Provide 100% free medical and school accessible to all people, Appropriate 30% of tax collection for this purpose. If the people are happy and not worried economy will surely grow positive. Invest in the people that should be the Gov. slogan. People first!
Toro
July 28th, 2006 at 6:38 am
Interesting points you have there, mc.bh, worth pondering. On the issue of impeaching elected officials by direct vote of the people which you suggest, besides the President and VP, there are nearly 250 members of the House and the Senate combined. Since people often have gripes against their congressmen and senators, did you foresee the possibility that the process you suggest could open the flood gates of having so many impeachment proceedings going on nationwide at the same time? Won’t this electoral process be very expensive to conduct in every congressional district that demand the impeachment of its representative? Won’t this induce people to engage in more politics and make the country even more political that government and people will lose focus on more important country development issues?
mac.bh
July 28th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Toro.
The truth is the VP has no duties in the government except to be a successor in case the President incapacity. If he/she is appointed by the president to some kind of post then he/she is not working as a VP but an appointed official of that cabinet. This system should be removed. The VP should not be appointed to any other work. He should remain a spare. This will remove the politics of popularity between the two leaders and therefore impeachment is not required for this purpose. Each government officials should have only one post at a time and can not be a consultant to any private practice/company. The president family should not live in malakanyang but in private home.
Senate should be abolished and the congressman should be elected based on province perse. Each congressman should be elected via province and impeachment via province constituents. It is really unbelievable that each voter vote for so many congressmen, each people should vote only one congressman, one representative. The rule is one Province one representative and therefore each voter should vote only one, isn’t that easy to count?
Basically you are right, people are gripes against their congressman but you forgot that the reason for that is because once elected people are helpless against them. Therefore the impeachment process per provincial constituents will change this prospective. People will have the power to directly remove them from office, pure political exercise for the people. The end effect is that congressmen will be serving their constituents or face impeachment, thus reversing the current gripes of the people itself. Look at the present structure, voters of manila are voting for Mindanao representatives, and voter of Mindanao are voting for manila representative, isn’t that insane? That is why senate should be abolished and congressman should be voted by the provincial constituents. One voter one vote and see the beauty of how easy it to count the results plus the direct political exercise of the constituents by watching their representatives.
As for your last comment: Won’t this induce people to engage in more politics and make the country even more political that government and people will lose focus on more important country development issues?
At present our voter’s political knowledge is half baked. Most of the voters really do not know whom they are voting. So what is the answer for this? Limit the scope according to their knowledge. Via that approach they can choose only for themselves which means Mindanao voters can only vote a representative of Mindanao and voters of Rizal Province can vote only for their representative. Here the hakot squatter is preventable. We should not be afraid of people engage in more politics as long as the scope of their politics is understandable to them. What makes politics worse is that people having the power to vote didn’t know how to use it or apply it. Ignorance is not the answer and we should not be afraid of it, we should encourage the ignorant to understand the power of votes!
With politics under the hand of the voters, the president can focus on development and executive duties.