BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat.com

At around 10 am today, the House of Representatives voted 173-32 upholding the decision of the Committee on Justice junking the impeachment complaint filed against Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for “insufficiency in substance”.

Justice Committee Chair Simeon Datumanong asserted that prior acts of Arroyo are not considered impeachable.

Representative Edcel Lagman, the committee’s vice chair, castigated the proponents of the impeachment complaint. Lagman said, “It began with propaganda and ended with propaganda.” He said that the seven boxes of evidence are “self-serving and feeble.”

House Minority Floor Leader Francis Escudero said in Filipino, “You kept on saying we don’t have any evidence but you refused to let us present the evidence.”

Unexplained wealth

In a two-hour interpellation, Deputy House Minority Leader Allan Peter Cayetano asserted that Arroyo’s refusal to declare all her assets and liabilities (SAL) is an impeachable offense.

Cayetano said, “Mali at kulang ang SAL ng pangulo. Kasama sa dapat imbestigahan ang kanyang immediate family.” (The statement of assets and liabilities submitted by the president was wrong and lacking. Her immediately family should be included in an investigation.)

Cayetano cited residential units in Caloocan, in San Francisco, California and the Jose Pidal account allegedly owned by members of the First Family. He said, “…unexplained wealth is presumed to be ill-gotten.”

At this point, Datumanong maintained that acts before the present term cannot be ground for impeachment. Cited in the complaint is Arroyo’s SAL in 2001.

Cayetano refuted Datumanong, “What matters is whether or not the President declared her true SAL. Hindi pinag-uusapan kailan binili ang property. (We are not talking about when she bought the property.) She continues to declare her SAL to this day.”

Biased interpretation

Datumanong said, “You did not get the one-third vote.”

Lagman also addressed the opposition lawmakers, “You should play by the rules.”

Cayetano said, “Walang problema sa rules. Ang problema, sa inyong nag-iinterpret ng rules para mapalusot si Gloria Arroyo.” (There is no problem with the rules. The problem is with you who interpret the rules to enable Gloria Arroyo to get away with it.) Bulatlat

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