Lawmakers to block impeach raps vs Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Muslim lawmakers in the House of Representatives have banded together to block moves to impeach President Aquino, saying those who want him ousted are just lusting for power.

Deputy Speaker and Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong issued the statement as Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said his group will study the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano on Thursday.

Balindong said he and the other representatives of the Muslim bloc “have agreed to unite in a common stand that we will not support any attempt by some opposition legislators to file impeachment proceedings” against Aquino stemming from the ruling of the Supreme Court declaring some portions of Malacañang’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional.

“We firmly state that we will never let politics and greed for power take precedence over the needs of the people,” Balindong said. “Ambition and lust for power by some misguided opportunists are now trying to sow chaos and confusion to delay, if not totally paralyze, the government, especially the executive and legislative branch by going into another long, tedious and acrimonious impeachment proceeding,” he said.

Balindong said any impeachment process at this time would derail the passage of vital bills, particularly the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law that will create a new autonomous region in Mindanao.

“We, the duly elected leaders of the Filipino-Muslims all over the Philippines, agree with conviction that the nation is now at the threshold of a new era of reconciliation; the Bangsamoro Basic Law shall be the key to a lasting peace in Mindanao, which in turn shall promote development and economic gains for all,” Balindong said.

He said it took 14 years to come up with the draft of the proposed law and “Congress cannot and must not stop now this great opportunity for all Filipinos to unite as one people.”

Ridon confirmed his office has received Lozano’s “verified impeachment complaint” against the President.

In the cover letter of the complaint dated July 3, Lozano asked Ridon to endorse the attached impeachment complaint.

Lozano said that aside from the militant and party-list lawmakers, he is expecting independent “porkless” congressmen to support the impeachment complaint.

Lozano is accusing Aquino of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for the illegal disbursement of government funds and failure to execute the law and do justice to everyone and promote public welfare.

He said Aquino is holding power over members of Congress through the DAP.

“With the Supreme Court declaring...DAP illegal, the President is now powerless to wield control over congressmen,” he said.

Although the administration has downplayed any impeachment against the President, Lozano said he is taking the lead in filing the impeachment through the offices of the party-list congressmen for endorsement to the House Secretary General.

“It is good that attorney Lozano exercised prudence and restraint in filing the complaint not through the House of Representatives’ Secretary General directly, but through my office,” Ridon said.

Ridon explained that under the Constitution, a verified complaint must first be endorsed by a member of the House to initiate the impeachment proceedings.

“We will review Lozano’s complaint and incorporate it with the complaint we are drafting if possible,” he said.

According to Ridon, various youth organizations are now preparing the filing of impeachment complaint against Aquino, and charges against Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and other officials behind the distribution of DAP funds.

He said the impeachment complaint would be anchored on betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution.

Ridon said his group is wary of possible “flawed, weak and bogus impeachment complaints” against Aquino that may be endorsed by other House members to block “legitimate impeachment complaints against the President.”

Article XI Section 3(5) of the Constitution states “no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”

He recalled that during the term of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, administration allies “abused the one-impeachment-proceeding-per-year rule” by filing “bogus, flawed and weak complaints” ahead of legitimate complaints.

“Our group is wary of such tactics, and we stand alert to thwart any move that would weaken or block legitimate impeachment raps against the President,” Ridon said.

He also dismissed avowals from administration lawmakers to block moves to impeach Aquino as they are recipients of huge funds from the DAP.

Ridon said the administration lawmakers who received money from the DAP should inhibit from any impeachment proceedings against Aquino.

On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said the President and Abad are being unfairly criticized on the DAP issue.

Cayetano said he was still unsure if he also received the so-called DAP funds as indicated in some reports, although he gave assurance that he could account for all the funds.

Cayetano said there was a presumption of regularity in the disbursement and use of the funds and that the issue of unconstitutionality in the way the program was implemented only came out in the ruling handed down by the high court this week.

Just like Malacañang, Cayetano said he believes the DAP was implemented in good faith and there was no intention to use the funds for illegal purposes.

Cayetano said the DAP was an honest mistake on the part of Malacañang and that if there is an issue the critics of the program should focus on, it should be on the recipients of the funds that used their allocations for illegal purposes. “What is bad is if these were stolen,” he said.

After the SC came out with its ruling on the DAP, critics of the program and the administration immediately demanded the resignation of Abad and the impeachment of the President.

Cayetano said the President and Abad were being unfairly criticized over the DAP which he said was intended to stimulate the economy.

Dasmariñas City, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga said even the SC could not deny the fact that the DAP has helped propel economic growth during the early years of the Aquino administration.

“While it struck down parts of the DAP implementation as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court also readily conceded that the program was a boon to the economy,” he said.

Barzaga said that despite the setback, all is not lost for the administration, which implemented the DAP program in good faith.

“Malacañang just wanted to get the job done and DAP did,” he said. “I don’t believe that President Aquino, Secretary Butch Abad or anyone in the executive should be faulted for simply trying to do what they believe is right to achieve a sustained economic growth.” – Perseus Echeminada, Marvin Sy