EDITORIAL - Impeachable offense

President Aquino is clearly ripe for an impeachment complaint. There is little argument about that, if at all. But there is also little argument, if at all, about the fact that any impeachment complaint that may be filed against Aquino is not likely to prosper.

The controversial Development Acceleration Fund is an illegal and unconstitutional creation that Aquino used to help push his political and economic agenda. His culpable violation is so clear and serious there is no way he could escape an impeachment wringer on the merits alone.

But that is not how the cookie crumbles in this country. It is superiority in numbers that determine the rise and fall of the stars. Aquino himself learned this lesson from who else but his most despised enemy -- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who, for the longest time, kept the attack dogs at bay with her grip on Congress.

This time, it is Aquino's turn to use Congress to prop himself from potential collapse and downfall. With the House of Representatives being led by the nose, and a Senate that does not know any better, Aquino may just possibly survive long enough to complete a term unsupported by a majority mandate.

But even then, just the thought and the possibility that Aquino has found himself in an impeachable position is vindication enough to the greater number of Filipinos who did not vote for him on the belief that what he represented in the campaign was a total sham.

This is not to blame the minority who elected him president. Perhaps they were just genuinely concerned by the direction the country was headed and honestly felt Aquino was the leader who could reorient them toward the right way to salvation. If only they listened to those who knew better.

Not that those who knew better are any better. It is just that they were more practical and had the common sense to put their feet on the ground and not get carried away by false promises no matter how desperate they may have become under the circumstances.

The Filipinos who installed Aquino in the presidency did so on the notion that Aquino was a saint who could do no wrong. Warned by others that the problems of the Philippines needed more than just an Aquino, who did not have the qualifications to begin with other than his name, they simply refused to listen.

Now the tide has turned. Or should we say -- the truth is finally out. Aquino is not what he has been cracked up to be. He was just the vehicle that his backers rode to the milk house. Because of them, or maybe, just maybe, in spite of them he has committed an impeachable offense. That is enough, whether he falls or not.