House opposition hopeful but not confident on impeachment case

The latest attempt to impeach President Arroyo faces an uphill battle, a member of the minority bloc in the House conceded yesterday, though the opposition is hopeful the charges will proceed to trial in the Senate even with the odds stacked against them.

"To be honest enough, we are hoping — but we’re not expecting — to get the constitutional shortcut of 79 signatures," House Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.

For the last several weeks, the opposition in the House has been evading questions regarding how many congressmen plan to endorse the new impeachment complaint.

Under House rules, an impeachment suit can only prosper if it gets a two-thirds vote of House members — in this case 79 votes —to send it to the Senate for trial.

"To me, there’s just two numbers — one and 79," Cayetano said. "It doesn’t matter anymore. The amount of pressure on each congressman depends on the outrage of his constituents. In fact, all issues here can be summed up with only one word — accountability."

The Taguig-Pateros congressman said they are no longer concerned primarily with ousting Mrs. Arroyo, though they still want her to address all the issues hounding her administration. To get the President to do this, the opposition is taking the only legal means possible: impeachment.

"They might win the battle (impeachment), but they have not resolved the issues," Cayetano said. "The root cause of the problem has not been addressed. Like the Danilo Lim controversy, it will just penetrate other military officers."

Rep. Joel Villanueva, son of evangelist and 2004 presidential also-ran Bro. Eddie Villanueva, also debunked statements made by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye that impeachment has become mere politicking.

"We agree this is a political process, but the bottom line is accountability and justice. It will do more harm than good if these issues are not resolved," he told reporters in a news conference.

Unanswered questions

Cayetano has offered a reasonable deal to the Arroyo administration to dispel allegations they are just "destabilizers." He even said the opposition would retract the impeachment complaint if Mrs. Arroyo answers recurring questions about the legitimacy of her administration and her presidency.

"We can even withdraw the complaint if she will answer these questions of cheating, lying and stealing. There are a thousand ways to explain. The point is we want to give her that chance," Cayetano said.

He added that the opposition is "willing to forgo the impeachment process if she will answer all these questions: Why did you talk to Garci (former election official Virgilio Garcillano)? Where is (former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn) Jocjoc Bolante? And who were the generals who helped you cheat in the elections?

"No one wants chaos. Just give us the how. So far (the President) is just trying to buy us. It has to be a solution that is acceptable to everybody," said Cayetano, who refused to categorically state whether or not he is running for senator.

Cayetano said it is lamentable that Mrs. Arroyo has been withholding the pork barrel funds of opposition lawmakers, which may jeopardize the second impeachment complaint, as those who signed up last year are now having second thoughts of pursuing it this time around.

"If (the President’s) problem two weeks ago was LBM (loose bowel movement), we (in the minority) are having the same problems now, LBM din (also) — ang Leaders Binibili ng Malacañang (our leaders are being bought by Malacañang). They always use the carrot-and-stick approach," he said, referring to the Palace.

"We urge (Mrs. Arroyo): Please don’t prostitute the impeachment process. Respect the citizens," he said. "Our worst fear is that this may go from bad to worse and (from) worse to worst. Are they afraid of elections? What they are just doing is to stay in power longer."

Cayetano also suggested the creation of a five-man independent commission composed of religious leaders, who will have subpoena, contempt and police powers to investigate allegations of massive cheating in the May 2004 polls.