Oust moves now directed against local officials

For months there were manifestations asking Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from office. The movement never flourished because there were no formal charges presented in court that could effect her ouster from office. The impeachment move did not get the support it needed and impeachment proceedings can be filed only once a year.

Now, it is local officials that are complaining that it is Malacañang that is behind the move to oust opposition mayors from office. A case in point is the suspension of Pasay City Mayor Peewee Trinidad over an alleged case of overpricing a garbage collection contract. The case led Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay to claim that the administration has an organized plot to file charges against opposition mayors. His basis was reportedly a letter that he had allegedly received from Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Manuel Gaite asking that he give his side on a complaint over the alleged hiring of ghost employees, a charge filed by former Makati Vice-Mayor Roberto Brillante. Brillante has accused Binay of putting ghost employees on the payroll of Makati City Hall. According to him, he will present the evidence to prove that "the dead, overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East … continue to receive wages in Makati." What is the truth about this matter? This seems to be strictly a local Makati matter. The case should be objectively studied to see if, first, indeed there was a hiring of ghost employees. If there was, the case should be further investigated to determine who was behind the hiring of non-existent employees. If there was no such hiring, then the case should end there.

Makati Mayor Binay is the president of the united opposition and has undoubtedly been behind the move of many street demonstrations demanding the President step down from power. If President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also takes steps to oust him from office, it should not be surprising. The whole question is the basis of the charge or charges justifying his ouster from office. That has to be determined by the courts. No government officials – local or national – can be suspended or removed from office unless it is cleared by the courts.

The local elections are still nine months away. Makati was one of the centers of rallies demanding the ouster of PGMA. What we need in Makati is peace and when we say peace, we mean freedom from political rallies. We will have plenty of time for that. All we need is three months of campaign before the elections. In the meantime, let us all get together and work.