Lawmakers to SC: Resolve Gutierrez petition before session resumes

MANILA, Philippines -  Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez called on the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to immediately resolve the petition of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to stop the impeachment proceedings against her before the House of Representatives.

Oral arguments on the petition of Gutierrez will start at the SC this week.

Rodriguez said the House committee on justice erred when it tackled the two separate impeachment complaints against Gutierrez because the Constitution prohibits the filing of more than one complaint against the same official in one year.

“I am hoping that when Congress resumes session by November (8), the SC will decide either to grant or deny the petition of Ombudsman Gutierrez so the House can do its work,” he said.

Rodriguez said the justice committee should not have acknowledged the two impeachment complaints.

“The committee on justice committed an error and it is violating the constitutional right of Gutierrez when they considered the two separate impeachment complaints at the same time,” he said.

Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo, a lawyer, shared the opinion of Rodriguez, also a lawyer.

“If I had my way, the House justice panel should not have given merit on the two separate impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Gutierrez because that violated the constitutional provision barring impeachment proceedings against the same public official within a year,” he said.

“We could have prevented the allegations that the committee committed grave abuse of discretion had they listened to our arguments.”

Romualdo called again on Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas to consider inhibiting himself from hearing the two impeachment complaints to avoid allegations that he is being vindictive as his father has a pending graft case before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“I am also reiterating my position that Congressman Tupas should heed calls for him to inhibit as articulated by Congressman (Ferjenel) Biron (of Iloilo) to spare the proceedings from being accused of vindictiveness and political color because of the pending graft case against his father in the anti-graft body,” he said.

Earlier, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. asked the SC to lift the status quo ante order and to respect the “exclusive power” of the House in initiating the impeachment case against Gutierrez.

In his motion for leave to intervene and comment in intervention ex abundanti cautela, Belmonte said the SC’s status quo ante order “emasculates the power of the House of Representatives to exact any form of accountability” from the Ombudsman, and endows Gutierrez with “the status of an untouchable.”