House to defy any suspension order on GMA

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will not enforce any suspension order against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo even if the Sandiganbayan grants the petition of the Office of the Ombudsman urging her suspension from the legislative chamber.

House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said the Constitution clearly states the independence of Congress and the processes in dealing with erring lawmakers.

“We will not honor any suspension order and the Sandiganbayan fully knows that it is provided for in the Constitution that any member of the House may be suspended only for misconduct in office by a majority vote of all its members,” Gonzales said.

“Before that, the concerned lawmaker must first be investigated by the (House) committee on ethics,” he said.

Even so, Arroyo cannot be covered by the House rules since the offenses mentioned by the Ombudsman were allegedly committed while she was still president.

“PGMA (Arroyo) is being prosecuted for alleged acts she committed before she became a congresswoman and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of the ethics committee,” Gonzales pointed out.

Government lawyers led by Director Rabendranath Uy of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) said the temporary removal from office of a government official charged with fraud is mandated under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The prosecution believes that “the suspension of (the accused) pending litigation from any public office that she may be holding is mandatory pursuant to law and jurisprudence.”

The OSP maintained Arroyo should be suspended in accordance with the anti-graft law.

The lawyers of the Ombudsman cited a Supreme Court ruling “that the validity of Section 13 (of the Anti Graft Law) treating of the suspension pendite lite (pending litigation) of an accused public officer may no longer be put at issue having been repeatedly upheld by this court.”

“The provision of suspension pendite lite applies to all persons indicted upon a valid information under the acts whether they be appointive or elective officials or permanent or temporary employees or pertaining to the career or non-career service,” the prosecution lawyers said in a six-page motion citing the Supreme Court ruling.

Citing the same decision, the prosecution said it is a ministerial duty of the court to issue an order of suspension upon determination of the validity of the information or case filed before it.

Gonzales, on the other hand, said he was somewhat surprised by the move of the prosecutors, whom he said, are fully aware of the legal issues.

“Maybe in filing petitions or motions, they (prosecution) forget things,” he said. “We cannot violate the Constitution just because they want to.”

Gonzales said many lawmakers in the past were ordered suspended by the Sandiganbayan for offenses committed before they became lawmakers but the order was not enforced by the chamber.

Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, a former justice secretary, took a similar stand saying only the House may impose sanctions on erring members for offenses committed as a lawmaker.

Jose Miguel Arroyo said the move of the prosecutors was another attempt to demonize his wife.

“She (Arroyo) is innocent until proven guilty,” Mr. Arroyo told The STAR. “Are they serious? Are they really lawyers? I think they fully know that this petition cannot prosper so I’m suspecting that this is only to continue their campaign to destroy her reputation.”

He said his wife is under detention for the “flimsiest charges” of electoral sabotage.

“She just said ‘12-0’, is that a crime?” he said, referring to the campaign of her administration in the 2010 senatorial elections to sweep the polls.

Arroyo, as former president, is facing graft charges for her involvement in the national broadband network contract between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp. in 2007.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales filed the cases against Arroyo and her husband, former elections chief Benjamin Abalos, and former transportation secretary Leandro Mendoza late last year.

Mrs. Arroyo posted bail in the amount of P60,000 last month for the two separate graft charges and another P10,000 for a third charge for alleged violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for playing golf and having lunch with ZTE officials in Shenzhen, China.

The Arroyo couple and Abalos were arraigned before the Sandiganbayan last week and all pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Arroyo ended her term as president in June 2010 but was elected representative of Pampanga’s second congressional district before she stepped down from office.

– Michael Punongbayan