Desierto case sent to justice panel

The House of Representatives referred to its justice committee yesterday the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Aniano Desierto.

The chamber made the move even before approving its rules on impeachment. It complied with the deadlines set in the Constitution for it to act on complaints against impeachable officials.

The justice committee, chaired by Rep. Marcelino Libanan of Western Samar, is expected to begin meeting on the Desierto case next week.

The panel would have to wait for the approval of the impeachment rules, which was expected last night or today.

The impeachment complaint, filed by lawyer Ernesto Francisco, accuses Desierto of alleged bribery, violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. Desierto denies the charges.

The complaint has been endorsed by Rep. Oscar Moreno (Lakas, Misamis Oriental) and party-list Reps. Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza.

Moreno was a member of the House panel that prosecuted ousted President Joseph Estrada in his impeachment trial.

On Monday night, during the debates on the proposed impeachment rules, the Mindanao solon warned his colleagues that they would make impeachment an "empty process" if they adopted the draft rules.

He said the drafting committee, chaired by Senior Deputy Majority Leader Francis Escudero, "added several hurdles" that would make it difficult for the House to initiate impeachment proceedings.

"That is not the intention of the framers of the present Constitution who wanted the impeachment process to be a political action instead of a criminal trial. Here, we would make it a criminal proceeding," he said.

In particular, Moreno cited the new requirement that the justice committee, before conducting hearings, should determine a "prima facie case of wrongdoing" against the official facing an impeachment complaint and recommend to the entire House whether it would proceed to hear such a case.

Escudero said this would give impeachable officials protection against nuisance complaints and harassment.

Moreno, however, said determination of a prima facie case would require evidence of guilt that may not be available to the justice committee before it conducts hearings.

"Constitutional officers, starting from the President, can be disciplined only through the impeachment process. There is no other window or mode, so let us not make it more difficult than it is," he said.

Under the impeachment rules of the last Congress, the justice committee was empowered to determine the sufficiency in form and substance of a complaint before calling hearings. There was no requirement for it to decide whether there was a prima facie case of wrongdoing against the official complained of.