Junking of Impeachment was Inevitable –
Analyst
Says next major
battle is vs Cha-Cha
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
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
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