Tidying up before the big push

(updated)

Today I went to the House of Representatives to watch our Motion for Intervention end up buried by the administration majority in the Committee on Justice. There weren’t many of us bloggers there, but it was comforting to know those among the intervenors unable to be present were thinking of us, as were other bloggers who have expressed their support, most lately including stuart-santiago and The Pelican Spectator.

As co-intervenor Marocharim Experiment blogged yesterday, everyone went into the process with no illusions, but no desire to compromise belief:

Like I said before: it doesn’t matter if GMA has two years or two days left in her Presidency. If she is found to be unfit to rule by virtue of a fair evaluation of evidence - or an admission of guilt - then the law doesn’t say that she doesn’t have to pay the price in the name of “stability” and “progress.” I reiterate: justice, fairness, and freedom are not words or compromises, but are perspectives.

For what actually transpired, {caffeine_sparks} provides the minutes of the proceedings of the Committee on (in)Justice. Here’s a sample, the moment of truth.

And see the coverage of Inquirer.net, of ABS-CBN, and part 1, part 2, and part 3 of GMANews.TV’s coverage. There’s Also the Philippine Star. While some of my reactions have been quoted in reports, I’ll get to that in my column tomorrow.So let me point you in the direction of co-intervenors blog@AWBHoldings.com and particularly, of Alleba Politics who takes a close look at the Mindanao bloc in the House:

Curiously, South Cotabato Representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio and Bukidnon Representative Teofisto Guingona III who fought for the intervention during yesterday’s hearing was absent today. And I am disappointed. I was counting on Custodio to fight for Mindanao, to declare that an injustice done to Mindanao and its people has repercussions and consequences. Arroyo has used and continues to use Mindanao and it’s issues for her political gain. But this is proof that we are not willing to fight for ourselves. Of the more than 50 representatives for Mindanao, not one, not a single one of them voted to accept the intervention. Not even one of them lobbied for it. Not one of them endorsed it.

Let it be known that these congressmen, supposed representatives of Mindanao and its people stood idly by, while their land, their constituents, their constitution, their country was put in peril and bastardized by Arroyo:

1. Aquino, Jose II S.

2. Amante, Edelmiro A.

3. Plaza, Rodolfo ‘Ompong’ G.

4. Pancrudo, Candido Jr. P.

5. Guingona, Teofisto ‘TG’ III L.

6. Zubiri, Jose Ma. III F.

7. Uy, Rolando A.

8. Rodriguez, Rufus B.

9. Romualdo, Pedro P.

10. Zamora, Manuel ‘Way Kurat’ E.

11. Amatong, Rommel C.

12. Nograles, Prospero C.

13. Garcia, Vincent J.

14. Ungab, Isidro T.

15. Olaño, Arrel R.

16. Lagdameo, Antonio Jr. F.

17. Cagas, Marc Douglas IV C.

18. Bautista, Franklin P.

19. Dayanghirang, Nelson L.

20. Almario, Thelma Z.

21. Belmonte, Vicente Jr. F.

22. Dimaporo, Abdullah D.

23. Dumarpa, Faysah RPM

24. Balindong, Pangalian M.

25. Datumanong, Simeon A.

26. Clarete, Marina P.

27. Ramiro, Herminia M.

28. Emano, Yevgeny Vincente B.

29. Taliño-Mendoza, Emmylou ‘Lala’ J.

30. Piñol, Bernardo Jr. F.

31. Chiongbian, Erwin L.

32. Dilangalen, Didagen P.

33. Antonino-Custodio, Darlene R.

34. Pingoy, Arthur

35. Mangudadatu, Datu Pax S.

36. Go, Arnulfo F.

37. Jikiri, Yusop H.

38. Arbison, Munir M.

39. Matugas, Francisco T.

40. Romarate, Guillermo Jr. A.

41. Pichay, Philip A.

42. Garay, Florencio C.

43. Jaafar, Nur G.

44. Climaco, Maria Isabelle

45. Fabian, Erico Basilio A.

46. Jalosjos-Carreon, Cecilia G.

47. Labadlabad, Rosendo S.

48. Jalosjos, Cesar G.

49. Yu, Victor J.

50. Cerilles, Antonio H.

51. Cabilao, Belma A.

52. Hofer, Ann K.

These are the people who have FAILED to represent and defend their constituents in Mindanao. Let it be known that they refused to recognize and accept the facts, that they have acted contrary to their mandate, their duty to serve their constituents in Mindanao. Let it be known that they stood idly by while Arroyo gave away a piece of their land, created a state within our island, entered an agreement that put our people and our nation in peril. They have failed to serve, failed to do what they are paid to do.

Of course what happened today was preordained.

Yesterday, the administration majority actually wanted to dispense with our Intervention. Please see the summary of what transpired, as recorded by {caffeine_sparks}: there’s also this interview with Rep. Teddy Casino:

Ricky Carandang: Sir, sufficient in form, tomorrow the vote on substance but there was a bit to do about whether or not the intervention filed by number of people would be included in the house. That wasn’t in the complaint… that wasn’t resolved. Was it?

Teddy Casino: No, it wasn’t resolved. In fact, we requested the committee to provide us copies of that intervention so that tomorrow we will have a more informed debate on whether to accept or not this intervention from various complainants.

Ricky Carandang: Okay, but as everybody loves to say in the House, Sir. It’s a numbers game and it doesn’t look like the majority is inclined to allow it in.

Teddy Casino: Well, the committee has to make a decision. What we are against is that it was a unilateral action by the committee chairperson Matt Defensor to consider the intervention as prohibited and to return the same to the complainants. We just want that thorough discussion be made because we think that the complainants also have right to be heard in this committee especially the importance of the issue that they are trying to bring out which the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Ricky Carandang: But what was the argument why they wanted to exclude it? And did they exclude it without hearing the arguments of the intervenors? Or did they vote to exclude it on a mere procedural matter?

Teddy Casino: Well it was a mere procedural matter on the technicality that the first complaint was already referred to the committee and therefore one-year ban was already in place. And the chair of the committee considered the intervention as a new complaint. But as was clarified as the chair of the committee on rules Art Defensor, this is not a new complaint. This is an intervention or more generically an amendment to the first complaint which the Justice committee would have jurisdiction over that.

Ricky Carandang: So you seem to be implying that there’s some inconsistencies here with the application of their rules.

Teddy Casino: Yes, because under the rules of criminal procedure, which is supposed to be supplementary to our rules, you can amend the complaint before arraignment. And the president has not be arraigned yet. We have not reached that stage. So our theory in the minority, is that any complaint can be amended by the Justice committee and there is no prohibition on amendments, interventions or any other matter. It’s just that the committee will have to deliberate and decide on this issue. This is a long established point of the minority, which in the previous impeachment proceedings have always been denied. But we think that it is in keeping with the rules.

Ricky Carandang: Well sir tomorrow then based on what you’re saying I anticipate a lot of discussion again about the rules about whether that intervention can be heeded or not. Just out of curiosity sir… will you…

Teddy Casino: But at the end of the day, it will come to a vote.

So, as one of my co-intervenors, New Philippine Revolution put it, we got to live another day.

I don’t exactly agree with Rep. Casino (I wouldn’t concede “more generically an amendment”) but in view of the challenge we blogger-intervenors issued last week and which I restated in my column last Monday, Walk the talk, congressmen. It was good to hear Casino say what he did and act the way he did; and of course particularly heartening were interventions of Reps. Darlene Custodio and T. Guingona III during the hearing.

The Inquirer.net report summarizes the questions that were meant to be resolved today as follows:

Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor, chairman of the justice committee, had raised the “prejudicial questions” that must be considered before determining whether the complaint would be sufficient in form and in substance would be:

• Which complaint/ complaints must be considered?

• Is the complaint in intervention allowed by the Constitution, the Rules on Impeachment or the Rules on Criminal Procedure in its suppletory character?

• Is the chairman on the committee on justice correct in returning the Lozano complaint based on the precedent as approved by the committee on justice in the case of the Tamano/ Pulido complaint?

The four complaints submitted before the committee were from:

• Jose de Venecia III, et. al. submitted on October 13;

• Attorney Guillermo Sotto submitted October 23;

• Manuel Quezon III et al submitted on November 12; and

• Lawyer Oliver Lozano submitted directly to the committee on justice and received by the committee secretary on November 17.

In the end, those from the minority who were present did take up the cudgels, not just for the impeachment, but our intervention, today. IWe were, however, never able to argue our case, which I present for the record (my thanks to the lawyers helping us on this):

1. The intervention is not a separate complaint involving a distinct cause of action but is just another aspect of the original cause of action upon which the de Venecia impeachment complaint rests, which is GMA’s culpable violation of the Constitution and breach of her oath as President of the Philippines.

2. The primary objective of the remedy of intervention is to avoid multiplicity of suits by allowing all related causes of action and issues to be resolved in one proceeding. As long as intervention has been properly and timely made and the intervention would not cause any injustice to anyone, it should not be denied. In fact the ends of justice would be better served by granting the intervention, as public interest should predominate over technical or procedural considerations.

3. Intervention should be granted if the intervenor(s) can show that they have a legal interest in the matter in litigation. As citizens and taxpayers, it cannot be denied that intervenors have a legal right to ensure that the laws of the land are upheld, especially if the violator is a public official. Impeachment is a process of national inquest into the conduct of public officials and the bringing of charges against them for misconduct in office.

4. The intervention is based on judicial findings which were not yet made or in existence at the time of the filing of the original complaint. Hence, it may be argued that an “intervening cause” , i.e. the ruling on the unconstitutionality of the BJE MOA (which was not appealed by the government), justifies the inclusion of the said subject matter as one of the grounds for impeachment.

In other news, there has been much tsk-tsking about Secretary Jesus Dureza’s opening prayer at the opening of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

Freudian slip? Trial balloon? Sneaky sabotage?

It has been more than two years since the President began chanting her mantra of “attaining first world status by 2020,” and began classifying our country as a “Second World country,” and by now, the phrase has become yet another tired presidential propaganda line, except, of course, for the very real possibility that the Palace believes its own propaganda.

And that it can be quite methodical and deliberate about achieving what it wants, in a manner calculated to reassure its loyalists, and those hoping against hope the current regime has an expiration date, and not unduly arouse the citizenry. Victory is so close, the Palace functionaries can almost taste it. Even as RG Cruz cautioned for the public to keep its eyes “on the ball,” it seems some factotums couldn’t resist a little gloating.

As Ding Gagelonia blogging At Midfield recounts,

This writer recalls that just weeks ago a commenter over at FilipinoVoices.com who claimed to be a ranking lawyer with direct links to the Palace revealed that they “wanted a 10-year term extension for GMA beyond 2010.”

This year -or next- as the Year of Political Rapture just came closer; aside from the usual suspects getting the ball rolling on further packing the Supreme Court, it was interesting to see Speaker Nograles in the space of eight months going from “amendments after 2010″ in February to “maybe some amendments, let’s see” in May, to “amendments are nigh!” Saying on the news, tonight, that he was tickled pink by Juan Ponce Enrile’s election as Senate President and pointing to the trial balloon he started floating back in February, a Constitutional Convention instead of the more politically nerve-wracking method of using the Supreme Court as a blunt instrument against the Senate. (To my mind, this is where Enrile would be useful: he could smoothly navigate a Constitutional Convention law through the Senate, calling the bluff of Senators who said the only kind of Charter Change they’d support is thru a Convention).

Anyway, seems after gauging public opinion, people have either tuned out, or have proven themselves so tractable and manageable, that the administration thinks now is the time because all those saying they will “wait until 2010″ are bluffing and will actually roll over and play dead if and when the President’s term extension by whatever means is achieved.

The prospects, if not for her, then for those surrounding her, are glittering indeed. As I mentioned in my 2007 column Quackery, if she’s in office come 2020, she would only be one year shy of matching Ferdinand Marcos’s grip on power.

But let me close with these reassuring words from the President’s ally, Rep. Danilo Suarez, explaining why initial reports of a 40-strong House delegation to accompany the President to Peru (subsequently reduced to 5) was no big deal:

Asked why such a huge group wants to join Mrs. Arroyo to Peru despite the economic crisis, Suarez said, “We have problems, but we don’t have a crisis.”

This reminds me of a conversation I had last Saturday, when I ran into Prospero Pichay of all people in Greenbelt. I asked him about our Chess team and then talk drifted to what seems to have been uppermost in his mind.

“You know this is a time not for politics but getting down to work,” he said, and proceeded to of course pat himself on the back as the new irrigation chief. I told him I’d been hearing of downsizing in some BPO’s, and that there didn’t seem to be much in the way of the administration (which he so loyally serves) doing much by way of revealing whether it has a game plan -starting with enumerating the challenges ahead.

He sort of snorted and said, “they’re clueless,” and proceeded to say some rather uncomplimentary things about people in the Cabinet like Angelo Reyes, who he basically described as a know-nothing as far as his portfolio was concerned.

So I responded by asking why Lakas-CMD didn’t unveil a plan, since, after all, political life for people like him goes beyond the term of the President. He smiled and said some non-committal things. Then paused, and said, “even she doesn’t listen to me, every time I make a suggestion, well, you know how taray she can be.”

And then, after some more pleasantries (he is, after all, a pleasant person) we parted ways.

Onward to First World status by 2020!

Share This

6 Responses to “Tidying up before the big push”

Pages: [2] 1 » Show All

1. 6
   Jeffrey J. Roden Says:
   November 21st, 2008 at 6:55 am

   Hindi makakapayag ang mga kabataang Pilipino, ang susunod na Salinlahi ng Dakilang Sambayanang Maharlika, na magkaroon ng pagbabago sa Saligang Batas ng 1987 nang hindi alinsunod sa paraan ng pag-amyenda na nakasaad dito.

   Hindi rin kami papayag na gamitin ang anumang pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas ng 1987 upang isantabi ang Halalan na nakatayang isagawa sa Mayo 2010. Bagamat kinikilala namin na mayroong kapangyarihan ang mga Miyembro ng Kongreso, ang Batasang Pambansa, na magpanukala nang mga pagbabago sa Saligang Batas, kinakailangang ang prosesong ito ay alinsunod sa mga nakasaad sa Saligang Batas. Kinakailangan na ang lahat nang panukalang pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas ay dumaan sa masusi at malawakang pagdinig nang mga pananaw ng publiko. Kinakailangan, lalung-lalu na, na dumaan ito sa Pagtitibay nang mga mamamayang Pilipino bago magkabisa.

   Hindi rin kami papayag na ang anumang panukalang pagbabago sa Saligang Batas ay maglaman nang pagtanggal nang ‘term limits’ ng kasalukuyang Pangulo o Pangalawang Pangulo, at ng mga kasalukuyang Miyembro ng Kongreso, maging mga Senador man o mga Kinatawan. Hindi katanggap-tanggap na ang mga magpapanukala nang pagbabago sa ating Saligang Batas ay sila rin ang makikinabang dito.

   Sa diwang ito, nananawagan ako sa lahat ng mga Pilipino saan mang dako o sulok nang mundong daigdig kayo naroon, lalung-lalo na sa lahat ng mga kabataang Pilipino, na manatiling nakatuon sa pagbabantay sa mga kasalukuyang kaganapan sa ating Mahal na Pilipinas, ang Perlas ng Silangan. Opo, kinabukasan po natin ito. Kinabukasan po ninyo ito at kinabukasan ng mga anak at mga apo ninyo. Kaya makialam po tayo.

   Ika nga ng mga matatanda, ‘wag tayong tutulog-tulog sa pansitan, baka pulutin tayo sa kangkungan.

   At sabi nga po sa awiting Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo: “‘Di na ko papayag mawala pang muli, ‘di na ko papayag na muling mabawi. Ating kalayaan kay tagal na nating mithi, ‘di na hahayaang mabawi muli…”

   Sa diwang ito, nananawagan din po ako sa bawat kawal nang buong Sandatahang Panlakas nang Pilipinas pati sa bawat miyembro nang Pambansang Kapulisan nang Pilipinas, na manatiling tapat sa kanilang tungkulin na pagsilbihan at ipagtanggol ang buong Sambayanang Pilipino. Ang inyo pong sinumpaang tungkulin ay hindi pagsilbihan ang isang tao o isang pangkat ng mga pinuno lamang. Kaya nga po sinumpaan ito dahil may sumpa ito kapag hindi ninyo sinunod. Ang inyo pong sinumpaang tungkulin ay pagsilbihan ang buong Sambayanang Pilipino. Manatiling nakaantabay sa tamang panahon at tamang paraan na ilalabas ang Hindi Nababaling Utos nang Maykapangyarihang Sambayanang Pilipino, ang Tinig nang DIYOS at Pinagmumulan nang Lahat ng Kapangyarihang Pamahalaan.

   Tandaan lamang nating lahat, lalung-lalo na ng mga nakaupo ngayon sa kapangyarihan na ang lahat ng bagay ay may simula at katapusan. Lahat nang inutang, maging sa kasalukyan man o sa kinabukasan naming mga kabataan at nang mga susunod pang salinlahi - lahat ay may kabayaran. Lahat nang tinanim, aanihin.

   Mabuhay ang Sambayanang Pilipino! Mabuhay ang susunod na Salinlahi!

   Kasihan nawa tayong lahat ng Bathala, ang Ating Panginoong DIYOS na Maykapal.

   Itinitik nang Aking mga Kamay,

   (Nilagdaan)
   Ginoong (G.) Jeffrey Roden y Jaraba
   Ugnayang Kaharian ng Langit at Lupa
   (”United Kingdom of Heaven and Earth”)
   http://jeffreyjroden.multiply.com

   Ang Pamahalaan ng Bathala
   (”Government of God”)
   http://jeffreyroden.wordpress.com

2. 5
   George Busaw Says:
   November 21st, 2008 at 2:02 am

   I don’t know what inherent right does GMA and her cohorts have that they feel they have all the rights to rule the Philippines. Hindi naman sila anak ng mga “Royal Blood”. Hindi naman sila mga “Genius”, Hindi naman sila mga “Gwapo”. Ang alam ko sya ay “Pandak”. Ang mga anak niya ay “kasing pandak” din niya. Hindi rin “Genius” katulad ng tatay nila. By these facts alone, President Marcos and Imelda should have been more prouder to GMA.

   As always from the beginning- GMA is always pregnant. Pregnant to the idea that she is the annointed one. But like any other things in these world, she too shall pass.

3. 4
   leo juni Says:
   November 20th, 2008 at 7:16 pm

   There will be no peaceful election in 2010.If we are lucky to have one.

4. 3
   Jemas Undag Says:
   November 20th, 2008 at 11:06 am

   I watched closely the senate hearing yesterday and I even had to miss my work just to monitor the proceedings because just like what others were expecting also, as projected to by some senators that Joc Joc Bolante would finally tell what he knows of the P728 million fertilizer scam.

   I am no apologist to Bolante nor am I a supporter of the government. I believe that Bolante and all other culprits should be penalized according to the gravity of the law if they are found guilty. Let him suffer the consequences by so doing, but in the meantime let us give Bolante the benefit of the doubt as the hearing on the case is still ongoing and under the law, the accused no matter how grievous the crime he may have committed, but without final decision and verdict yet rendered by the courts he is still innocent until proven guilty.

   But this is not my point.

   The point is some senators turned inutile in achieving their real agenda. They had been wanting Bolante to testify, in fact the senate issued a summon order to make him appear on the senate hearing. And now that Bolante has spoken on the P728 million fertilizer fund, I wonder if what more can the senators ask and do after prejudging Bolante to the scam? Some senators obviously were dissatisfied with the turn out of the hearing. I wonder why? Isn’t a fact that the reason why they arrested Bolante is that they wanted him to testify so that once and for all the issue on the fertilizer scan would come to rest. And so indeed he testified, but why were some senators saying, they never believe Bolante. After all those media exposures and after you prejudged Bolante, and this is all we will only get from all your press releases or could it be because, the senators have failed to show the alleged involvement of President Arroyo on the scam. This is highly perceptible to the lines of questioning of our dear senators. They wanted Bolante to link President Arroyo on the case which the former vehemently denied.

   The senators must have valued a sense of impartiality even before the hearing commenced in the senate.

   We don’t care about Bolante let him be jailed, but what we do care about is the too much dirty old politicking going on inside the senate and in some branches of the government.

5. 2
   Ricky Santos Says:
   November 20th, 2008 at 10:26 am

   Nakakainis naman itong mga mambabatas natin. “Yung kay Bolante iniimbestigahan na nga sa Senado, iniimbestigahan din pa rin sa Kongreso. Sa meryenda lang ng mga kongresman at senador na nag-iimbestiga eh malaki na ang nagagastos. Eh iyung mga inimbita pa nila. Gagamit pa sila ng koryente at aircondition. Naku! Ang laki ng gastos!
   Samantalang pwede naman dalhin sa korte ang kaso na iyan. “Dib a nga nakasama na sa Ombudsman ang kaso eh bakit patuloy pa rin ang magkahiwalay na imbestigasyon sa senado at kongreso. Mind you, inimbestigahan na rin iyang alleged fertilizer scam noong nakaraang Kongreso at si dating Senator Magsaysay ay nagrekomenda na kasuhan si Jocjoc. Kahit na nga “in aid of legislation” eh wala namang panukalang batas na ginawa.
   Sa panaonngayon na marmaing pamilyang Pilipino ang nagugutom, dapat pati ang kongreso at senado ay magtipid. “Wag sila pasaway!

   RICKY SANTOS
   Ricky.s208@gmail.com

Pages: [2] 1 » Show All

Leave a Reply