The opposition made the call in reaction to an announcement of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. that the chamber would begin tackling the complaint and Cha-cha simultaneously this week, possibly on Wednesday.
Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, the opposition’s spokesman on the impeachment case, said the House should give priority to the complaint as it seeks the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo on the ground that she violated the Constitution, betrayed the public trust and committed acts of bribery and graft and corruption.
He said as long as the case is pending in the House, these charges will continue to hound Mrs. Arroyo and the nation will remain adrift.
"We should focus on expeditiously hearing the complaint and sending it to the Senate for trial, since there is probable cause to try the President," he said.
He pointed out that on the charge alone of influencing the Commission on Elections, which is supposedly an independent body, there is already testimonial evidence that Mrs. Arroyo met with Comelec regional directors to seek their help in ensuring her victory in the May 2004 presidential election.
Cayetano is referring to the testimony of Senate jueteng witness Michaelangelo Zuce, a former political officer in the office of Presidential Political Liaison Officer Joey Rufino.
In an affidavit, Zuce said he attended a meeting between the President and Comelec regional directors held in the Arroyos’ La Vista, Quezon City house in January last year, four months before the May presidential elections.
He said during the dinner-meeting, the President asked the election officials "to support and help her in the coming 2004 presidential election."
He said then Isabela Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. and the elusive Virgilio Garcillano, who was then a Comelec commissioner, were present "throughout the dinner."
He claimed that after the meeting, former Lubao, Pampanga mayor Lilia Pineda, a close friend of the President and wife of suspected jueteng king Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, distributed envelopes containing P30,000 each among the election officials.
He added that Mrs. Arroyo witnessed the distribution of the money.
The President has dismissed Zuce’s allegations, saying no such meeting and bribery took place.
Cayetano said Zuce’s testimony alone should be sufficient to establish probably cause that Mrs. Arroyo violated the Constitution by influencing Comelec officials and seeking their help to ensure her victory.
He said the opposition can easily establish probable cause on the other charges to expedite that transmittal of the complaint to the Senate.
"Once we have transmitted the case to the Senate, then we can tackle Cha-cha. Charter change can wait. In fact, it will have to wait until 2011 because the President, in an interview over GMA-7, has clarified that she wants to finish her term, which expires in 2010," he said.
He pointed out that the statements of administration officials that Mrs. Arroyo was willing to cut her term and give way to Cha-cha were apparently intended to mislead the public that is increasingly becoming dissatisfied with the Arroyo presidency.
Meanwhile, the President’s House allies claimed yesterday that Zuce lacks credibility and may have lied in his Senate testimony.
In a joint statement, Representatives Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City and Edwin Uy of Isabela said denials from persons Zuce has mentioned show that the witness "is bereft of credibility."
In particular, they named Ahmad Bayam, who holds the rank of assistant secretary in Rufino’s Malacañang office.
Domogan and Uy said Bayam has denied Zuce’s claim that he had endorsed the appointment of then Comelec Region 10 director Garcillano for Comelec commissioner.
They quoted the Palace assistant secretary as saying the witness’ statements "are all completely false and designed by him to bring down the present administration."
Zuce has turned over to the opposition’s impeachment team several documents, including Bayam’s and Rufino’s memos of Mrs. Arroyo recommending the appointment of Garcillano as Comelec commissioner.
In a marginal note, Rufino told the President that Garcillano "will be a great asset to you. He has proven track record and can deliver."
Bayam, on the other hand, said the election official "has been extensively serving and protecting the interest of Lakas-NUCD-UMDP, particularly in Mindanao, and delivered almost every electoral pleasure of the administration."
Domogan and Uy also said Zuce has money problems and has boasted of cash offers from the opposition.
They said lawmakers involved in the plot to destabilize the administration should be exposed and should inhibit themselves in investigations affecting the embattled Arroyo presidency.
"Otherwise, Congress would be a witting accomplice to the destabilization plot," they said.