Defensor: Opposition impeach bid not well organized

Short of saying that the opposition had only themselves to blame, Environment Secretary Michael Defensor said he believes the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo was dismissed because its backers did not do their homework.

The opposition is struggling to gather the 79 signatures needed to send the complaint to the Senate for trial probably because they lack good organization, Defensor added.

"If they really want to succeed in their impeachment advocacy then they could have done their homework," he told The STAR in an interview.

"They could have worked harder in presenting their evidence and explaining to other legislators rather than whining most of the time before the media."

Defensor, a former congressman who was among the proponents of the 2000 impeachment case against deposed President Joseph Estrada, recalled that they were very organized at that time and their "networking" was efficient.

Work among them was divided, he noted. Some were tasked with "intelligence gathering" while others were assigned to "focus" on then Speaker Manuel Villar, who was allied with Estrada at the time. Others were assigned to look for endorsers of the complaint.

"In our time, we were really consolidating our ranks. We didn’t even divulge our numbers because we wanted to protect our signatures, we don’t want to give the other side the chance to convince their party mates to withdraw their signatures," Defensor recalled.

"And we didn’t just call to other congressmen for their signatures. We really took time to sit down with them and explain to them exhaustively our case so they would really understand."

Defensor underscored the importance of exerting energy to justify the case to congressmen, pointing out that lawmakers weigh certain considerations such as national duty along with their duty to their constituents before making a decision.

Defensor said the problem with Arroyo impeachment proponents is their "tendency to hit on their colleagues, claiming that the lawmakers who do not endorse their impeachment complaint were paid — which, in my opinion, is really unfair to the congressmen.

"Killing the impeachment does not mean killing the truth, for all the issues they have been raising against the President were already presented to the media."

Villar sent the complaint to the Senate for trial in late 2000 once it got the backing of at least 79 congressmen.

House majority leader Prospero Nograles said the opposition committed a "strategic blunder" when they refused to consolidate the three complaints against Mrs. Arroyo into one, which he said would have given the complaint a better chance of succeeding.

Most of the 90-member House committee on justice voted to dismiss the complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano for lack of substance. Lozano’s complaint was the first to be filed.

The other two — one filed by Jose Lopez, the other by the opposition — were junked because they violated the constitutional ban on initiating impeachment complaints against the same official within a year.

Meanwhile, sources claimed that 15 more congressmen who endorsed the impeachment complaint were now withdrawing their signatures as the House moves to deliberate on the complaint.

That would leave 34 lawmakers backing the complaint, down from a reported 49 backers. At present, the complaint is 30 signatures short of the minimum needed to send it directly to the Senate for trial.

Sources also disclosed that the committee on justice will no longer pass through the committee on rules but will be directly elevated to the full House for deliberation.

Speaker Jose de Venecia will include the impeachment complaint in the chamber’s order of business so that voting can be held immediately.

"This is to expedite the proceedings by skipping the House rules committee. There might still be dramas at the House committee on rules," one source said.

Nograles denies such a plan but acknowledges that De Venecia has that prerogative. "We are waiting for the final committee report, duly signed by a majority of the members."

Reconciliation Bid

Local officials, meanwhile, have begun political reconciliation efforts to heal the wounds and division caused by the impeachment proceedings.

"Local government units are ready to lead the movement for peace, unity and reconciliation because we cannot allow chaos to reign. The future of our country and the generations to come are at stake," Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, spokesman for the League of Provinces, told a press conference yesterday.

Evardone, Bong Plaza and Erlpe John Amante — governors of Agusan del Sur and Agusan del Norte, respectively — urged Congress to focus its attention on the nation’s more urgent problems.

"We hope that the opposition will accept Congress’ decision, whether or not it favors them. This is what’s mandated by our laws," Plaza said.

Amante said people in Mindanao, because of its distance from the seat of government, have been "suffering silently" because of the political bickering in Manila.

"We are appealing to congressmen that they focus their attention on more important issues such as the oil and energy crisis. Let’s be united in tackling these problems," he said.

Actress Susan Roces, meanwhile, will lead a prayer rally in Greenhills, San Juan, while the House deliberates on the impeachment complaint on Monday.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the government would tolerate street protests as long as they are within the bounds of law. "That is part of their freedom of expression and we respect that."

Former President Corazon Aquino, who had joined the opposition call for Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation, and evangelist Eddie Villanueva, who ran and lost in last year’s presidential race, are expected to attend. — With Delon Porcalla, Aurea Calica