Went to the Bastusang Pambansa to see the action but most of it took place not on the floor, where Romulo Neri was sitting in a panel defending the CHED budget as members of congressmen took turns asking pointed questions to beef up the budgets for their districts. It was a very nerve-wracking three hours for all concerned.
Had a chance to prowl the galleries and the floor and get scuttlebutt from members of the House.
One account of this morning’s meeting at the Palace was that the main bone of contention was the upcoming baranggay elections. Congressmen were very anxious that the polls not be postponed, as it was an opportunity for them to spread goodies around. Demands were supposed to be 50,000 per kagawad or a total of 5 million for each congressman to dole out. The President had given assurances but had even been pursued with calls while she was in China, to assure that the written assurances that the polls would push through, were genuine. The badgering continued this morning, with congressmen supposedly in a foul mood and threatening mischief if the President didn’t do the doling out right there and then.
Another account was simpler, which was a Palace guarantee of 45 35 million per congressman, 25 million in “soft” pork and 10 milion in “hard” pork, whatever that means in congressional terms. In exchange, the congressmen pledged cooperation with the President in terms of pursuing her agenda.
But the figures discussed are impossible to verify (and every congressman could have been lying). The main topic of interest was, what was the Speaker going to do, and what were his options? Opinions among members of the House varied. They ranged from the Speaker had the numbers, to the President had the numbers, to the problem that Friday, it turns out, is a holiday which is why the President wanted matters settled by tonight.
The problem was that the Speaker was not inclined to refer the impeachment complaint prior to the recess. The question then was whether this would precipitate a showdown in the House, and who, exactly, had the numbers; also, there was the very real problem that if the complaint wasn’t referred prior to the break, the October 25 Senate hearing would take place, and if anything ended up revealed in that hearing, the revelations could lead to the complaint being amended and possibly fortified.
The Speaker’s options, as discussed by various sources, ranged from his having pulled a fast one last night by checking himself into the hospital for whatever reason (gastritis, LBM, etc.) and told the House to go on recess early, to his suddenly fainting in his office this afternoon and being rushed from the House in an ambulance, thus causing pandemonium, to the Mace either disappearing or being grabbed by his loyalists, thereby disrupting the session, to someone questioning the quorum, suddenly ending the session. But then the entire budget would have been imperiled.
Or the Speaker could publicly state he would not refer the complaint until the maximum period allowed, November 11.
Or the Speaker could decide that he faced an ethical dilemma, and announce he was inhibiting himself from the whole matter. This was the solution, apparently, put forward by the Palace as a face-saving gesture but involved its own risks. The Speaker’s lawyer, Raul Lambino of Sigaw ng Bayan fame, gave the Speaker similar advice, couched in terms of his right not to participate in forwarding a document obviously aimed more at the Speaker and his son than the President. The Speaker, by taking himself out of the game, would then pass the ball to Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar.
Del Mar could then easily say that it being his call, he would hold the ball until after the recess. Or, del Mar could then send the complaint immediately to the Committee on Rules, which could then sit on it; or the Committee on Rules could instantly send it to the Committee on Justice…
For an hour, from around 3:30 to 4:30 talk centered on whether the Speaker would take himself out of the game or force a showdown. Then at around that time came word there would be a press conference at the Speaker’s office. Up to that time there were still members of the House proposing that the Speaker should pass the ball to del Mar but that del Mar shouldn’t do the Palace any favors.
Like war, members of the press spend a lot of time just waiting then suddenly heaving into action. By 5 pm the media was huddled outside the door of the Speaker’s office as various congressmen trickled out and basically refused to say anything. Finally the doors opened. Mad stampede as everyone rushed in.
The Speaker looked remarkably calm and relaxed. Arrayed around him were various House members and the Speaker’s people, including Atty. Lambino.
At one point, the Speaker got up and disappeared; call of nature, I asked a reporter? Probably a phone call from the Palace, someone else said.
The Speaker reemerged, the press conference formally began. It played out pretty much as everyone had expected:
De Venecia inhibits self from Arroyo impeach rap; Arroyo impeach case referred to panel; JDV inhibits himself; JDV inhibits self from impeach rap.
I asked a couple of questions, because the Speaker said he was withdrawing from participating in the process, even though he had misgivings because of bribery allegations, etc., etc., but he urged del Mar to attend to his ministerial duty. Del Mar smoothly said he would transmit the complaint to the Committee on Rules. Art Defensor chimed in and said as chairman he was going to calendar the referral before the plenary that very night, for referral, in turn, to the Committee on Justice.
The sending of the paper from Deputy Speaker to Rules Chairman to Justice Committee of course constituting the start of the one-year countdown of the ban on further impeachment complaints.
So my questions focused on asking del Mar why he was rushing to refer the complaint, his answer was, it’s ministerial, and then I asked Defensor if he, as Chairman, could act on behalf of a committee he only chaired but which had more than himself as members; Defensor was offended and said the whole procedure is normally concluded as he said it would be, that he was confident in speaking for the committee, etc.
Questions from the reporters present concentrated on this rush to start the Constitutional countdown while others focused on relations between the Speaker and the President.
But I had to keep asking myself, why is the Speaker, who, depending on whom you asked earlier that afternoon, had been browbeaten by the President, or threatened with being deposed, or otherwise facing a momentous event in his political life, so relaxed, so calm -and what did he have to gain from surrendering to the Palace?
Fine, he actually did the ethical thing, but I have to wonder if his inhibiting himself was the best legal advice. Fine, he gets to keep the Speakership, if the President did have the numbers. He may even think he did the country a favor by heading off the possibility of an impeachment, and the President maybe, owes him another favor.
But what does he have to gain, politically, from caving in like this?
He has to have something up his sleeve, I kept telling myself as I left the press conference.
But I have to figure out what that could be.
Update 7:58 pm and 9:08 pm Got a report that on radio it was pointed out that there’s a problem with what the Speaker did. The Constitution, according to some lawyers (and Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is apparently already raising hell about it on the floor of the House as I write this), does not give the Speaker any discretion.
The Speaker, and only the Speaker, must do the referral. He cannot delegate it, he cannot inhibit himself, it can only be the Speaker and no one else. So goes the argument.
I asked some lawyers and they concur: when the Constitution is clear and specific, and cites no exceptions, then it must be done in the manner and by whom the Constitution says. One lawyer gave a Solomonic answer: is the Speaker the only person who can refer the complaint, and if the Speaker didn’t, is there a justiciable case?
Here are their various answers:
Yes, based on the constitution [article XI. section 3.[2] and the rules of the house on impeachment [section 3. Rule 3.]. But note section 14 [h.] of the Rules of the House. authorizing the speaker to designate a member as tempo presiding officer. after informing the deputy speakers in case he/she temporarily unable to do so.
Yes the supreme court can resolve it. Note Francisco vs. House of Rep case in 2003, supreme court ruled that the power of judicial review includes power of review over justiciable issues in impeachment proceedings.
Yes. Its really a subject of justiciable review, based on Francisco decision. In this case any person may initiate it as a taxpayer suit or have a congressman question it in SC…
I think it is a jusiticable controversy but i doubt referral can be described as defective [cuz] SC will look at the House Rules in addition to the constitution. SC will try to harmonize house rules and charter and i think if they do so, they will rule this referral valid.
Because the constitution does not envision situations where speaker is unable to perform and so SC will take a look at house rules and see if speaker did the right thing. if under house rules, speaker did the right procedure, then SC will rule referral valid.Nature abhors a vacuum, the house rules filled up that vacuum.
Better question is: Can a constitutional duty be delegated? Its like the prez asking somebody to deliver SONA.
But you know justice committee can also order amendment of complaint but that’s a stretch.
So those are the contending views. But if it’s true that a legal wrinkle exists….
It’s a possibility too delicious for words.
JDV: “But Madam President, I did what you told me…”
del Mar: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker told me…”
Defensor: “But Madam, I did what you and the Speaker and del Mar told me….”
Everyone’s ass is covered except the one who was supposed to benefit from the inoculation!
More from Uniffors and from Ellen Tordesillas.
Technorati Tags: constitution, House of Representatives, impeachment, philippines, politics, president
We cannot rule out Prozac.
I always expected this “Inoculation” scenario to prevent a more serious impeachment move this year.
But what I find most intriguing is this:What new mega scandal is about to explode that in the panicked minds of the Palace gang could trigger a more serious impeachment move?
Remember that “effective inoculation” is a three-step process:
1. Warn the receiver of the “impending serious attack”.
2. Make a weak attack.(inoculation)
3. Get the receiver to actively defend against the more serious attack.
cvj,
Wan shyang hou. I see you’re up to usual haunts, someone’s been missing for quite sometime though.
Wan Shyang Hau Ramrod. Yeah, she’s probably restocking on her supply of ALL CAPS. A good deal was expended in the previous threads.
I am a newbie, non-pinoy observer of Philippine politics…wondering if someone could get me a quick rundown of what this all means. [I try to keep up with this great blog, but it’s hard to jump in and understand without a lot of background].
So the Speaker tried, and possibly failed, in inoculating the President from impeachment by trying to recuse himself, thus allowing an intentionally weak impeachment complaint to go through….?
Is the “ass” left uncovered here GMA’s, and if so why? Simply because JDV’s attempt at caving to Malacañang maybe didn’t work?
What connection does this have to the ethics complaint filed by Pulido against JDV?
And if anyone wants to get into the no doubt complicated issue of why JDV inhibiting himself from forwarding the impeachment documents would mean anything, or be good for GMA, or necessary for JDV…..why would he do that, and why would anyone need him to do that? This must be procedural…I just don’t understand.
Many thanks.
Neophyte Observer,
“So the Speaker tried, and possibly failed, in inoculating the President from impeachment by trying to recuse himself, thus allowing an intentionally weak impeachment complaint to go through….?”
I’d say this is a fairly accurate observation. Honestly, I get a headache myself following these skirmishes. I’m just content to watch also, see how this administration fall like a house of cards (or not).
the ethics complaint vs. jdv could have been part of a gambit to lead to such a bloody series of hearings, the president could ask the speaker simply to resign for the good of the country.
the question raised above is a procedural wrinkle and possibly not more than that, but it may have been a procedural wrinkle no one considered and as with the way of all things, end up in court.
or it could have been thought out which makes it a procedural wrinkle that slipped past the palace radar and would be astoundingly brilliant (a less likely scenario).
“Mrs. Humpty Dumpty sat on the Great Wall.
Mrs.Humpty Dumpty had a great ABCZTEFG fall.
All the queen’s horses and all the queen’s men
Couldn’t put Mrs. Humpty Dumpty together again. ”
Unraveling the fairy tale…
“…Another account was simpler, which was a Palace guarantee of 45 million per congressman, 25 million in “soft†pork and 10 milion in “hard†pork, whatever that means in congressional terms. In exchange, the congressmen pledged cooperation with the President in terms of pursuing her agenda….”
Hi MLQ3… thanks for going out of your way to get these inside info. You’re doing us Filipinos a big favor by letting us know what’s really going on behind the Palace’s cover-ups. Really appreciate it. 🙂
Who knows… after Ricky’s (Carandang), your blog might be the next one quoted in the subsequent Senate hearings. 😀
dr. d. i hope not. 🙂 and you made me recheck my math. it’s 35, not 45…. but of course it’s all hearsay, from congressmen no less.
another much ado about nothing. gma’s impeachment is an annual past-time of those who are outside looking in. not worthy of any further comment, if i may say so.
mlq3,
At this point, all indications point to an innoculation. Either a win-win with Joe or a head count showed Joe has lost the majority. Either way, one front is secured for GMA. JdV is dis-armed. JdV is at GMA’s mercy regardless if they had a win-win understanding or not.
Remote possibility, but still a possibilty at this point, is that JdV has firm commitment of and full support of majority, takes the gambit and pushes the impeachment to the senate.
Looks like JdV never had a chance against himself.
This self inflicted crisis has just turned into the Three Stooges slapstick comedy show. Who are Moe, Larry, and Curly in this updated version?
GMA’s inoculation is good for three years and not just for a year, there will be more Pulidos every year. It is very easy to file an impeachment complaint if it is designed to fail(you just need three pages of paper), while the honest to goodness impeachment complaint which is usually voluminous and carefully studied takes a lot of time to prepare . GMA’s minions will always jump the gun against the opposition. GMA has _____________ the impeachment process.
Ellen Tordesillas said:
“The scene this afternoon at the House of Representatives was bizarre. Arroyo’s men were rushing to speed up the impeachment process against their boss while the opposition was blocking it. Jesus! Only in the Philippines.”
Yes, only in the Philippines, the only country we have.
Bencard,
“another much ado about nothing. gma’s impeachment is an annual past-time of those who are outside looking in. not worthy of any further comment, if i may say so.”
Naknampucha naman. Two out of the three impeachment complaints were impeachme complaints. What the hell are you talking about “the past-time of those outside looking in?”
Joe de V & Gloria looked at each other & guess who blinked first ? JdV. This is yet another blow to our justice system.
So, what’s next ? People who want to rally peacefully suffer the water canon. We cannot expected anything from our politicans who have been undoubtedly prostituted. We may have the Supreme Court, but it is an equal branch of government & also suffers that risk of being politicised. What else is there left to do ? Support a military junta or stick it out with GMA (who, by the way, has plans to stay beyond 2010) ?????
At the end of the day, we can whine, complain, & bitch all we want, the choice is still left to us make, really. Again, itutuloy pa ba natin ang laban ?, or do we pack up & stick it out with Gloria ?
JdV inhibiting himself is ridiculous; he should have inhibited himself from meeting with GMA at the palace.
GMA says she’s hands off the impeachment complaint then summons the majority coalition to the palace.
pete,
JDV did the right thing. He could not endorse the complaint without incriminating himself since the complaint was more against him than gloria and he couldn’t sit on it either.
As to going to the Palace, it’s also okay because it was a party caucus.
But what I would have preferred was for JDV to have waited until 11 Nov, the last day for referral before taking any action. Gloria would have gone nuts waiting for the shoe to drop!
And it would have been better if at the end he forced a showdown with Gloria.
mb,
But he did not wait till nov 11 and seems he opted out of a showdown. as mlq3 was asking himself, what did JdV gain from his last move?
mb,
seems quite tragic that mr win-win got himself into a loose-loose position when it mattered most for his political survival and when it mattered most for the country. this self-confessed, albeit “benevolent” he claims, trapo could be our chance of getting gloria out of the palace.
“what did he (JDV) have to gain from surrendering to the Palace?”
Nothing. Let’s accept that JDV is a stooge and GMA is a bully.
The pictures illustrate the drama all too well. No need for words.
Above statement not for the irony impaired.
maybe it would be easier for those obsessed with impeaching the president to make a template or an impeachment software that they can use every year until 2010. this yearly charade is like “people power”. it has become a ho hum exercise that bores everyone but the masochistic losers that just couldn’t wait for their turn at the helm.
the political epitaph of the speaker will be, i think it’s safe to say, “he was never an asshole, he just wanted to be liked to much.”
the opposite of what his chief executive has learned in her years of office.
bencard, i know we disagree on whom we support but really, what alternative universe have you been observing?
do you need a timeline of the energy and resources that have been spent on this most recent inoculation by the palace??????
mav: in answer to your question, one member of the house answered me with one word: “cybered.”
“Envelopes containing cash amounting to between P200,000 and P500,000 were handed out to congressmen at the meeting, along with promises of pork barrel amounting to millions of pesos, hours before administration lawmakers took action in the House of Representatives to protect Ms Arroyo from being impeached, several lawmakers present at the meeting told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.”
HOW IS THIS LEGAL AND HOW DOES THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT JUSTIFY THIS ON THE BUDGET????????
NO SUCCESSFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD DISBURSES TAX MONEY IN THIS MANNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nash,
That’s called looting the national treasury at will…
So another riveting zarzuela seems to have come to an end. Really though, JDV was never a match to the great empress-for-life GMA. (And why has our situation become so ridiculous that the best option for ousting GMA relied on the trapo and dirty hands of JDV?) Some questions:
How to prevent such an an “inoculation” in the future? Should there be changes to the house rules to prevent this moro-moro in the years to come? If so, what changes should be made?
Do the people really still care about all this? Is there even national indignation? (Parang wala yata?) Ba’t parang mas nagalit pa ang pinoy kay Malu Fernandez at sa Desperate Housewives?
How have we managed to continue tolerating the absurdity of it all? Will the nation ever wake up? Or ganito na lang yun palagi? Absurdity is the new reality for pinoys?
To think that to be above the law, Marcos needed to padlock Congress, jail his political opponents, shoot down militant students, bulldoze the Supreme Court, clamp down on the press and ultimately place the country under martial law; Arroyo has only to wear her elevator sandals to achieve similar feat. Quo vadis, Pinoy?
maybe it would be easier for Lozano and Pulido to make a template or an impeachment software that they can use every year until 2010. this yearly Lozano/Pulido charade is really a charade . it has become a ho hum exercise that bores everyone but the congressmen that earned so much everytime the stooges get into their act..
Remonde said: “The congressmen are not for sale, and for that matter the entire Congress of the Philippines.â€Â
The Republic of the Philippines is for sale.
(Make offer, text Malacanang)
mb,
:”it would have been better if at the end he forced a showdown with Gloria.”
Showdown between a ball-less guy and a heartless fighter?
How could there be a showdown between two protagonists when one is ball-less and the other heartless? The ball-less one runs away from a fight while the heartless one beats up any taker before any chance of a showdown, even beating up a ball-less guy running away from a fight.
Abe,
How right you are!
Btw, since you’ve shown interest in her elevator sandals, check this:
http://www.manila-bay-watch.blogspot.com/2007/05/shoes-fit-for-moral-midget-queen.html
“Remonde said: “The congressmen are not for sale, and for that matter the entire Congress of the Philippines.â€Â
The Republic of the Philippines is for sale.
(Make offer, text Malacanang)”
Didn’t you know? Its been SOLD already! Its just being resold and resold like a second hand Toyota, or some “night walker” in Quezon Ave by gay pimps.
Abe Margallo sums up Gloria’s type of governance so well:
“To think that to be above the law, Marcos needed to padlock Congress, jail his political opponents, shoot down militant students, bulldoze the Supreme Court, clamp down on the press and ultimately place the country under martial law; Arroyo has only to wear her elevator sandals to achieve similar feat. Quo vadis, Pinoy?”
And speaking of Gloria’s elevator sandals, check this:
http://www.manila-bay-watch.blogspot.com/2007/05/shoes-fit-for-moral-midget-queen.html
“Envelopes containing cash amounting to between P200,000 and P500,000 were handed out to congressmen at the meeting, along with promises of pork barrel amounting to millions of pesos, hours before administration lawmakers took action in the House of Representatives to protect Ms Arroyo from being impeached, several lawmakers present at the meeting told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.â€Â
These are properly acknowledged (signed) right, with vouchers and everything? They should have used ATMs, less conspicuous, unless there is no intention of leaving a trail (money trail that is). Now I’m really wondering how these lawmakers define ILLEGAL – a sick bird, no reference to the law whatsoever…
Hey, I expected more blogging today since its a holiday!
mlq3, i know politics is a day-to-day preoccupation in the philippines but must it be the only one? what about nation building, the economy, the environment, peace and order, real education, social services, health, better infrastructure and transportation, etc.?
it seems that everything the sensation-seeking media dishes out is taken as gospel truth. unsubstantiated gossips are disseminated and readily bought by a gullible public who seem to derive aberrant pleasure in demeaning its own government.
the problem of the country is systemic as well as defective body politic. one solution, for instance is the outright abolition of the pork barrel system to be replaced by a more efficient distribution of government funds to benefit the entire country and insulate it from rapacious politicians. this could have been effected through a constitutional amendment or revision, even reconstituting the present republican presidential format of government to a parliamentary one. as usual, ugly politics and a campaign of disinformation by the self-serving media got in the way, thereby perpetuating a bane that has been with us ever since self-government was bestowed upon us by our colonizers.
we need a national enlightenment as badly as we did at the time of jose rizal. meanwhile, we just have to muddle through and feel our way in the darkness until then.
mlq3,
question: this practice of doling out pork lard to tongressmen when they exit the pigsty by the pasig river, do they sign receipt of it? [my next question shall proceed after your reply].
oops sorry, ramrod above has the same question.
Joey de Venecia was seen on TV looking quite bitter at what his Dad had done. Where does this leave Joey? Left alone to fend for himself?
Does the chapter end with the father sacrificing his son in a deal with the devil?
Or does it end with the father smiling the smile of a Cheshire cat?
“what about nation building, the economy, the environment, peace and order, real education, social services, health, better infrastructure and transportation, etc.?”-bencard
These issues are already being addressed albeit quietly by non publicity hungry individuals. This apparent obsession with politics I believe is an integral part of Philippine society which is probably one of the main reasons why the country hasn’t decayed in the way Burma has. Before this blog, I have been ignoring Philippine politics and media in a rather cynical way and focused more on humanitarian persuits. But lately, I’m beginning to appreciate the value of the media in our society, particularly “our” society – otherwise politicians or other unscrupulous persons can get away scot free with anything. We have the option to listen, discern, analyze, filter, isolate, integrate, interpret, and synthesize all these information in ways that may be useful in our day to day existence and decision making. Unlike in some countries where they can function with only 50% of the population being involved in political activity because the government is relatively efficient or the private sector is strong enough to satisfy basic needs, the Philippines needs a “hands on” type of management by as many Filipinos as humanly possible. It cannot be done from anywhere else, its needs people in the “trenches” knee deep in mud and grime to further build this country. Although its easy to disassociate ourselves from all this, for me I’m still a big part of this apparent “mess” because I am a Filipino and I wouldn’t give up being one for anything in the world.
“As you may know, the Cheshire Cat is a character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The cat is surreal and mad, a fact which he readily admits. (“We’re all mad here,” he says.) He is also remembered for fading from view before Alice’s eyes. When Alice complained, he proceeded to fade more slowly, leaving his big grin for last. (It has been speculated that this phenomenon came from Carroll’s migraine headaches.)”
A very apt metaphore Phil Cruz…
we need a national enlightenment badly and urgently at this times of jose pidal. meanwhile, we just have to muddle through and feel our way in the darkness until then.
Dirk Pitt,
There is national enlightenment already, the voting public sees (and hears) all these “drama” on TV, from the radio, from the local barbero, taxi drivers, tricycle drivers, public markets, office cafeteria, resorts, the internet, and mlq3’s blog. Even the results of the recent senatorial elections show the Filipino electorate is capable of making intelligent decisions. We are not in the dark, we are living our lives “intentionally” making as many right decisions as wrong ones – but we are MAKING THEM BY OURSELVES, as we should be. This in itself should be enough to regain our national pride unless we look at ourselves as smaller than mice that anyone can step on our “pride” and “ego.” We are bigger than life, the political awareness, the protests, the sometimes over active media, etc. are part of our celebration of our freedom…
“Dirk Pitt,
There is national enlightenment already, the voting public sees (and hears) all these “drama†on TV, from the radio, from the local barbero, taxi drivers, tricycle drivers, public markets, office cafeteria, resorts, the internet, and mlq3’s blog. Even the results of the recent senatorial elections show the Filipino electorate is capable of making intelligent decisions. We are not in the dark, we are living our lives “intentionally†making as many right decisions as wrong ones – but we are MAKING THEM BY OURSELVES, as we should be. This in itself should be enough to regain our national pride unless we look at ourselves as smaller than mice that anyone can step on our “pride†and “ego.†We are bigger than life, the political awareness, the protests, the sometimes over active media, etc. are part of our celebration of our freedom…”
ramrod
you might want also to address this to someone else!
“another much ado about nothing. gma’s impeachment is an annual past-time of those who are outside looking in. not worthy of any further comment, if i may say so.”
Well, Bencard, this is your sacrosanct “rule of law” at work, making a complete farce of the rumored democracy in the Philippines.
Bencard,
Re: “we need a national enlightenment as badly as we did at the time of jose rizal.”
I know you like, nay, adore Gloria but do you honestly believe she is the ‘national enlightenment’ this country needs very badly?