‘Opposition won’t abandon impeachment’

Opposition congressmen are not about to give up their campaign to impeach President Arroyo despite appeals from administration allies for them to abandon what the latter describe as a "futile" effort.

"We are not abandoning the impeachment bid. We will pursue it because it is the right thing to do," Minority Leader Francis Escudero told reporters yesterday.

He said aside from resignation, the impeachment process is the only constitutional means of "making the President accountable for the lying, cheating and stealing charges that we have leveled against her and for eventually replacing her."

"And since she has obstinately refused to resign, impeachment is the only viable constitutional option," Escudero said.

Asked about the claim of Mrs. Arroyo’s House allies that the impeachment bid would just be a futile and counter-productive effort as the opposition does not have the numbers to impeach the President, Escudero said an imminent defeat would not deter them from "seeking the truth through this constitutional process."

He said those calling on the opposition to give up its impeachment initiative in the face of sure defeat "could be suggesting another option that is not constitutional."

Mrs. Arroyo’s allies have vowed to thwart new moves to impeach her. Majority Leader Prospero Nograles has told Escudero and his opposition colleagues that they should not hope for miracles as none is forthcoming.

Other administration allies said the new impeachment initiative won’t accomplish anything other than dividing the nation.

The impeach-Arroyo effort may not be gaining ground in the House but it is winning support from various groups.

Leaders and members of several organizations of Muslim leaders and health workers added their signatures yesterday on the impeachment complaint against the President. Doctors belonging to the martial law-era militant group Health Alliance for Democracy (Head) were among the new signatories.

In a statement issued by its secretary-general Dr. Gene Nisperos, the alliance claimed that Mrs. Arroyo employed "massive corruption and bribery to cheat her way to electoral victory (in 2004) and to kill the impeachment process (last year)."

"Guess where the money for bribery comes from? From public funds that should go to health services, among others," it said.

The alliance said the President, in the course of the 2004 presidential election campaign, used taxpayers’ money to fund distribution of health insurance cards to her supporters.

"The Arroyo government just let the health insurance cards expire after the election," it added.

Among the Muslim signatories was Hadji Abdullah Dalilig, chairman for Lanao del Sur of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), who had testified in the Senate about alleged election fraud that supposedly benefited Mrs. Arroyo.

The Muslim leaders and health workers joined hundreds of members of Bangon Pilipinas Movement and Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) who have been trooping to the House since Monday to sign the complaint as additional petitioners.

Bangon and Cibac are identified with defeated presidential candidate and charismatic leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva, whose son Joel represents Cibac, a party-list group, in the House.

Leaders and members of at least two organizations associated with another defeated presidential aspirant, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson, have already affixed their signatures to the complaint as co-complainants.