GMA allies: Only Lozano complaint can be considered

Two allies of President Arroyo reiterated their position yesterday that only the original impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano can be considered by the House of Representatives.

Representatives Antonio Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur and Jesli Lapus of Tarlac, who sit in the House justice committee that is hearing the three impeachment complaints against the President, made the reiteration in a joint statement.

Impeachment petitioners are of the view that the three petitions should be consolidated since they are related. In fact, the complaint filed by the opposition last July 25 is an amended version of the Lozano pleading.

Cerilles said a recent Supreme Court ruling "made it clear that the filing of the first complaint and its endorsement by a member of Congress initiated the impeachment process."

"The Supreme Court made a clear-cut interpretation of the constitutional provision on impeachment complaint filing. We need not bend the rule. The principle is first come, first served," he said.

Cerilles was secretary of environment and natural resources of ousted President Joseph Estrada and is now a staunch defender of Mrs. Arroyo.

Citing the opinion of Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez, he said allowing the initiation of only one complaint within a period of one year is meant to prevent harassment of impeachable officials.

Lapus said the rules of procedure on impeachment are clear and should not be relaxed.

"As lawmakers, we should be the first to follow the law. Our aim here is to determine which of the three impeachment complaints should be judged in form and substance. The original complaint is the basis and anchor of the other complaints," he said.

The arguments of the two and all other administration allies sitting in the committee on justice hew closely to the pleadings the President made in her "motion to strike," which seeks to expunge from House records the opposition’s amended complaint and the second complaint filed by Manila lawyer Jose Lopez, who basically adopted the Lozano petition.

According to the opposition, by filing the motion to strike, Mrs. Arroyo is choosing which charges to answer.

"She is hiding behind a technicality to evade answering our more serious charges of lying, cheating and stealing. If she has nothing to hide, she should not be afraid of facing any and all possible charges," said Minority Leader Francis Escudero.