House opposition studies CBCP push for impeachment

Opposition congressmen decided yesterday to study the proposal of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) advocating the initiation of an impeachment process against embattled President Arroyo.

They made the decision in a meeting at a Quezon City restaurant a day after the bishops group refused to join calls for the President to resign but called for impeachment proceedings or a "truth commission" to further investigate the allegations raised by the "Gloriagate" tapes.

It was the consensus of the 20 or so opposition lawmakers led by Minority Leader Francis Escudero that pressing for Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation is still the best solution to the current political crisis, especially since they consider an impeachment process to be an "administration-laid trap" in which they are bound to fail.

"But we are willing to give this constitutional process a try despite the odds, if the rules of the game will be fair," Rep. Florencio Noel of the party-list group An Waray, one of those who attended the meeting, told The STAR.

He said a study group chaired by San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora will look into all issues related to initiating impeachment proceedings against the President.

He said it was also decided that they should coordinate with other House members who have called for the President’s resignation and for impeaching her if she does not resign.

"We should determine if there are enough numbers to send an impeachment complaint directly to the Senate for trial," he added.

Under the Constitution, a complaint signed or endorsed by at least one third or 79 of the total House members can be sent directly to the Senate.

But that would also depend on the impeachment rules approved by the House, according to Assistant Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.

"If the rules will provide that the 79 signatures should be affixed in the petition upon its filing, then the two pending impeachment complaints, assuming we support either of them, will be dismissed because they were endorsed by only two administration allies (Rep. Rolande Marcoleta of the party-list group Alagad and Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan)," he said.

He said the same thing would happen if the minority, together with Liberal Party congressmen, files a separate complaint that is supported by 79 signatures.

"They will consolidate all complaints and treat the first two petitions as the surviving complaints. And since they had only one endorser each, the petitions will be killed," he added.

In a related development, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday he would be one of Mrs. Arroyo’s defense lawyers if the impeachment complaint against her pushes through.

At a press conference, Gonzalez said that being a member of the prosecution panel in deposed President Joseph Estrada’s aborted impeachment trial, he believes he "could contribute something" in defending Mrs. Arroyo if ever she is impeached.

He said he will defend the President in his private capacity as a lawyer.

"I will resign as justice secretary if the President accepts me to be in the defense (panel). I’m not saying I will lead (the defense) because the President has her own lawyers. But I know the process and I believe I can contribute something to the President," Gonzalez told the press conference.

Gonzalez had previously said he will be the last man standing in the Arroyo Cabinet as the 13-month-old administration continued to be hounded by allegations and controversies. — With Jose Rodel Clapano