Merci: Impeach proceedings illegal

MANILA, Philippines - Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to annul the resolutions of the House committee on justice declaring the impeachment complaints against her sufficient in form and substance. 

During yesterday’s oral arguments at the SC, Gutierrez’s legal counsels, former SC Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas and lawyer Anacleto Diaz, told the court that the impeachment proceedings held in the House of Representatives violated Gutierrez’s right to due process. 

“There can be no valid ground (for the impeachment complaint),” Cuevas said in his opening statement during the arguments. 

Gutierrez also asked the Court to order the Justice Committee to stop conducting impeachment proceedings based on the two complaints. 

The first impeachment complaint was filed by losing senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel last July 22 and was endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Reps. Kaka Bag-ao and Walden Bello. The second complaint was filed last Aug. 3 by Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes and was endorsed by Reps. Neri Colmenares, Rafael Mariano, Teodoro Casiño, Luzviminda Ilagan, Antonio Tinio and Emerancia de Jesus.

Both complaints were referred to the justice committee on Aug. 11 and were declared sufficient in form on Sept. 1 and sufficient in substance on Sept. 7. Gutierrez’s legal counsels told the Court that declaring the complaints sufficient in form violates Sec. 3 (5), Art XI of the 1987 Constitution, which states that no impeachment proceeding shall be initiated against an official more than once within a year. Because of this, the filing of the second complaint violates the one-year ban.