Citizens’ congress finds GMA ‘guilty’ of rigging votes, corruption

The opposition-led Citizen’s Congress for Truth and Accountability (CCTA) called on President Arroyo to step down in finding her "guilty" of massive corruption and cheating in the May 10, 2004 elections.

After five months of conducting a mock trial, the CCTA led by former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr. held the "people’s court" in reading out its 203-page verdict in recommending to Mrs. Arroyo to immediately vacate the Office of the President "so that she can be held accountable for her acts" for culpable violation of the Constitution.

The CCTA presented its verdict yesterday, on the "second anniversary" of the administration’s alleged manipulation of the presidential polls.

Guingona led the CCTA accused Mrs. Arroyo to have stolen up to 1.2 million votes to ensure her victory in the May 2004 elections.

He said the people’s court also found Mrs. Arroyo liable for massive human rights violations and political persecution, citing her failure to stop abductions and killings of political activists.

Guingona said Mrs. Arroyo and her administration has violated the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of which the country is a signatory.

At the same time, Guingona announced plans to file a case against Mrs. Arroyo before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) and urged "the international community to withdraw aid and recognition from the Arroyo government."

Mrs. Arroyo has denied any wrongdoing, and her allies in the House of Representatives squashed three impeachment bids last September and blocked a potentially damaging investigation on a technicality.

A month later, some 40 small opposition and militant groups launched their own unofficial investigation, comprising themselves the "people’s court."

Notwithstanding the five months of conducting hearings and trial which had no legal value, the mock court lined up 22 witnesses and reviewing voluminous documents in five public hearings.

The 15-member fact-finding committee found out Mrs. Arroyo allegedly cheated her way to the presidency by tampering election results in four vote-rich provinces, Guingona led the organizers in telling a news conference at the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.

The CCTA alleged more than P7 billion in funds were allegedly used to fund government projects allegedly designed to lure large number of votes for Mrs. Arroyo during the 2004 presidential elections.

There was no immediate reaction from Mrs. Arroyo, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, but Malacañang officials dismissed the mock trial as an attempt by power-hungry opposition rabble rousers to revive complaints similar to the impeachment charges that were trashed by Congress.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez told a joint news conference that the Constitution would not allow the creation of CCTA for political purposes.

They branded the guilty verdict handed down by the CCTA on President Arroyo as "garbage."

"It’s a kangaroo court with no place in our judicial system. I hope our people would understand there is no such thing as people’s court," Ermita said.

Ermita accused Guingona and the CCTA convenors of making a mockery of the justice system.

"They were the ones who thought of the case (against the President), they were the prosecutors and they were also the ones who convicted her," he said.

Gonzalez, for his part, said there is no basis for the CCTA to implement its verdict on Mrs. Arroyo.

He said the CCTA’s verdict will only "gather dust" since it arrived on a verdict on a "one-sided" investigation.

"But it’s a one-sided court, there was no defense lawyer for the President," Gonzalez said.

While dismissing the implications of the people’s court verdict, Gonzalez said some from the opposition might even use it as basis to seek the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo.

"So what will happen here is, yes they can use it if they succeed in filing an impeachment (complaint against the President) after the one year ban takes effect," he said.

‘Recycled toilet paper’

Administration lawmakers also described as "recycled trash" the guilty verdict by the CCTA.

"The people’s court is nothing but recycled toilet paper from a marsurpial’s behind, since it is just the product of a kangaroo court," Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas declared.

He stressed the CCTA has "absolutely no basis in fact and in law."

Cagas pointed out the President "cannot be accused nor judged guilty of poll fraud since no less than the Presidential Electoral Tribunal had dismissed the electoral protest case filed against her."

He challenged the CCTA "to seek to enforce their judgment and so members of the bogus court will themselves face arrest by authorities for their illegal proceedings."

Cagas joined Isabela Rep. Edwin Uy in expressing their disappointment to Guingona who they claimed had "lent" his name to such illegal proceedings.

"He (Guingona) should utilize the remaining years of his life cleaning the skeletons in his closet," Cagas said.

Uy said the CCTA verdict has no legal bearing, pointing out the "fraudulent nature of the panel" that held five hearings on issues against the President.

"What else is new? Their guilty verdict is a rehash of the opposition’s poll fraud allegations against the President," he said.

Uy said the CCTA is part of the opposition’s publicity stunts to further put down Mrs. Arroyo before the public.

He said their findings will not stand scrutiny before the PET or even before the impeachment proceedings for lack of legal and factual bases.

"Until now, the anti-Arroyo forces have yet to substantiate their allegations of poll fraud, corruption and rights abuse against the President," Uy said.

"Clearly, the report was intended to support a new impeachment. We in the House will not accept this junk as evidence," he said.

The two lawmakers appealed to Guingona "to be more conscious of his place in history."

"(He should be) wary of mercenaries who are only after a return to power. We urge him to heed the people’s clamor for the opposition to stop politicking and help the country move forward," they said.

Opposition lawmakers led by Rep. Francis Escudero, on the other hand, declared they may be able to use the CCTA report to support their plan of reviving impeachment complaints against Mrs. Arroyo in July.

"When judgment day comes, it’s important that we’re on the right side of history, on the side of justice ... and the suffering people," Escudero said.

"I hope we can correct the wrong history that was written in 2004," he said. — With Aurea Calica, Delon Porcalla, Non Alquitran, AP