A La Salle professor said the killing of the impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was inevitable because it was part of the whole design of Malacañang to keep the president in power up to 2010 and beyond.
BY KARL G. OMBION
Bulatlat.com
BACOLOD CITY – A facilitator of the Social Science Educators Circle (Seedcore) said the junking of the impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was inevitable because it was part of the whole design of Malacañang to keep the president in power up to 2010 and beyond.
George Aguilar, a professor at the University of St. La Salle (USLS), said he had the trashing of the impeachment bid because it was clear from the start of the proceedings that Malacañang and pro-Arroyo legislators had been using the “enormous resources, powers and influence at their command” to thwart all efforts of the opposition to unseat Arroyo.
“How can the opposition win when the pro-GMA legislators have been using their sheer numerical tyranny, rather than their rationality and sense of justice, in the issues raised in the impeachment case?” added Aguilar.
The opposition congressmen failed for the second time late last month to get sufficient votes for the impeachment case against Arroyo for culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, and betrayal of public trust. The report of the House Committee on Justice junking the impeachment complaint supposedly for lack of substance gathered 173 “Yes” votes against only 35 “No” votes.
A similar fate befell an impeachment complaint filed against Arroyo last year. Lawyer Oliver Lozano filed an impeachment complaint against Arroyo for betrayal of public trust, while another lawyer, from Palawan, filed a similar complaint. The Lozano complaint was amended to include graft and corruption, bribery, and culpable violation of the Constitution. All complaints – including the original Lozano complaint – were thrown out by the House majority on technical grounds.
Aguilar stressed however that it was only the impeachment process that was killed but also the truth about Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s “illegitimacy, lies” and political killings. “Deep in the hearts of majority
Filipinos, GMA should be removed because she is an illegitimate president carrying out policies that are detrimental to the political and economic security and welfare of the people,” he said.
Aguilar also said that after the impeachment, Malacañang and its “stooges” will push for charter change to complete the process of ensuring Arroyo’s stay in power up to 2010 and even beyond.
“So the next major battle for the opposition and the progressive movement is how to frustrate the efforts of the administration groups to push charter change; and it is likely to result in a sharpening of political contradictions in our society,” he said.
In a related development, Felipe Gelle of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) in Negros said they will not shed tears for the betrayal committed by pro-Arroyo congressmen, nor will they be cowed by the defeat of the impeachment.
“Despite this, the people’s movement will continue to gather strength and fight GMA and her minions on all fronts possible until she is ousted and a new government that truly represents the people’s interests is installed,” he said. (Bulatlat.com)
