Impeachment hearings vs Ombudsman to resume on August 26

MANILA, Philippines - The impeachment hearings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez will resume on Aug. 26, three months after the House of Representatives justice committee gave both parties more time to amplify their respective positions.

The hearings in May were cut short due to the almost two months’ recess of Congress from June 3 to July 27.

The committee chaired by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor found the 33-page impeachment complaint “sufficient in form,” which meant it complied with all the requirements.

The procedure left hanging was the committee’s decision to give the critics of Gutierrez additional and ample time to explain the impeachment complaint filed against her by the group of former Senate president Jovito Salonga.

The motion of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo for them to be allowed an hour and a half of summation on the impeachment charges was carried and approved by Defensor, since there were “no objections.”

The next hearing will be allotted to the House opposition bloc, whose main presenter will be Ocampo.

Thereafter, the committee will schedule another hearing to give those opposed to the impeachment charges reasonable time and give them the same opportunity to make their arguments known.

Former Justice secretary Serafin Cuevas, counsel for Gutierrez, is confident the charges against his client will be dismissed for lack of merit.

“There’s no substance,” he said.

“The problem of substance lies in the allegation of the complaint. If she (Ombudsman) violated due process, then the complainants should be either of the two parties (like Tupas or Garcia).”

Cuevas said the power to dismiss and suspend local officials is “lodged with the Ombudsman.”

“In this case, you don’t see either of the two governors (Niel) Tupas (of Ilo-ilo) and (Tet) Garcia (of Bataan) complaining,” he said.

Defensor said it would take some time before the committee can vote on the sufficiency in substance of the complaint as it will first hear the recital of facts of the complaint’s endorsers and the reply of anti-impeachment lawmakers.

Cuevas, a retired Supreme Court justice, said Gutierrez was trapped in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

“Her (Gutierrez) action does not suit their desire,” he said.

Cuevas cited the P1.3-billion Mega-Pacific case, where the SC directed the Ombudsman to conduct a probe.

“The (SC) order was to determine probable cause, which she did,” he said.

The SC did not direct Gutierrez to ensure an indictment, but only to find out if there were indeed irregularities, he added.

Cuevas said civil society did not like the outcome of the probe, where former elections chairman Benjamin Abalos and several others were absolved of any criminal liability.

The Office of the Ombudsman, an independent constitutional body, can never be bound by findings of anomalies by a branch of government like the Senate, he added.

The other counsels of Gutierrez are retired Supreme Court justice Jose Vitug and former Sandiganbayan justice Harriet Demetriou.