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
“bencard, i for, one, will be very pleased to eat humble pie if june 30, 2010 rolls around and we’ve managed to elect a new president and have a fresh start.
just as i hope you will gladly eat a steaming helping of it, too, if
a) we manage the above despite a move by gma to amend the constitution before then
b) the new president/prime minister is gma.”
what you are trying to speculate on is that, you are worrying about spilled milk wherein the cow where the milk would come from has not yet been born. simply put, your assumption is all about terminal imagination (referring to terminal cancer).
let’s not get too much ahead of ourselves.
“tililing, because the process was designed with serious cases in mind. just this year, a serious case could be built on the jarius bondoc revelations and zte-nbn and if you wait a little more, on cybered.
if you wait.
which the palace could not.
and which the opposition, if it wanted to mount a credible and serious case, has to do.” mlq3
what happened to the formidable case using the hello garci investigations? i thought they said they had enough evidence. the problem is, enough evidence to convict or acquit gma.
if there has been a lot of talk about too much corruption why depend on the zte-nbn deal? i won’t rely too much on this jarius bondoc guy. after all, what he got when said in court is hearsay not unless neri confirms the the bubbly words that comes out from the mouth of jarius boy.
“legal ethics has the force of law, the proven violation of which could make the lawyer a lawyer no more, and/or a jailbird.” – bencard
The keyword is “proven.” But then again, its pointless to argue with legality as it is in black and white and the best lawyers (meaning highly paid ones) are usually those who can get their clients off the hook – even the guilty ones. I know of one such lawyer who won “rape” cases inspite of the fact that these rich defendants really did rape their victims. This lawyer happens to be a friend of mine, he’s rich, has around 32 children from 9 wives (only one is legal though). We don’t live in LEGAL HEAVEN, this is real life…
“Can “karma†have any effect on people with devilish powers already? People who wantonly do evil things but can make it appear they are not, convincing even the most intelligent(?) among us?Ramrod
The tenet of karma is essentially “if you do good things, good things will happen to you  if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you.”
I don’t think they can bribe the 189 congressmen to repeal the law of Karma!
tililing, you’re right on target. that’s why law is considered one of the three traditional PROFESSIONS, the other two being medicine and priesthood. priesthood protects the soul, medicine protects life, and law protects freedom.
i’m a graduate of journalism (served as my pre-law) but for the life of me, i’m not so sure what sanctions “envelopmental” or creative journalists are subject to.
““legal ethics has the force of law, the proven violation of which could make the lawyer a lawyer no more, and/or a jailbird.†– bencard
The keyword is “proven.†But then again, its pointless to argue with legality as it is in black and white and the best lawyers (meaning highly paid ones) are usually those who can get their clients off the hook – even the guilty ones. I know of one such lawyer who won “rape†cases inspite of the fact that these rich defendants really did rape their victims. This lawyer happens to be a friend of mine, he’s rich, has around 32 children from 9 wives (only one is legal though). We don’t live in LEGAL HEAVEN, this is real life…”
ramrod,no delicadeza. no shame. that’s how things work these days. it’s all about me, myself, and tililing. might be confusing for some but makes a lot of sense. look after your own ass, that’s about it.
“tililing, you’re right on target. that’s why law is considered one of the three traditional PROFESSIONS, the other two being medicine and priesthood. priesthood protects the soul, medicine protects life, and law protects freedom.
i’m a graduate of journalism (served as my pre-law) but for the life of me, i’m not so sure what sanctions “envelopmental†or creative journalists are subject to.”
bencard, it might be one reason it’s called creative journalism – they create and invent stories even without solid basis. it makes sense to them. why do some detective work if it’s to easy to use your imagination to concoct things and create some conspiracy theories.
the more controversial the story, the better for the company. i don’t believe that journalist/editors/writers have 100% independence from the print of broadcast media they work for. not in the philippines.
bencard, among the traditional professions, i think you forgot prostitution or perhaps you got that covered under law.
cvj, who in his right might would think that the professions of law, medicine, and priesthood can be compared to prostitution?
“i don’t know what kind of sanctions it has, if any, other than civil or criminal sanctions for its transgressions should they constitute actionable wrongs.”
Bencard,
The media is indispensable in a democratic country and the Filipino is not as gullible as you think. Its the people who will decide to accept or ignore what the media dishes out. It seems that GMA can take comfort at the moment, but history will tell us that repression always results to some form of rebellion. If the law is silenced or used to silent the dissenting voices, the PEOPLE will speak eventually…We have two deposed self-proclaimed strongmen as evidence of that, one is rotting in his grave, the other rotting in jail.
…someone who is not ’tililing’.
cvj, really? what are you then? a prostitute yourself?
tililing, i’ve never been a lawyer.
““i don’t know what kind of sanctions it has, if any, other than civil or criminal sanctions for its transgressions should they constitute actionable wrongs.â€Â
Bencard,
The media is indispensable in a democratic country and the Filipino is not as gullible as you think. Its the people who will decide to accept or ignore what the media dishes out. It seems that GMA can take comfort at the moment, but history will tell us that repression always results to some form of rebellion. If the law is silenced or used to silent the dissenting voices, the PEOPLE will speak eventually…We have two deposed self-proclaimed strongmen as evidence of that, one is rotting in his grave, the other rotting in jail.”
responsible media not irresponsible media and those media who are fond of tall tales and conspiracy theories, without basis, without evidence, mere speculations.
tililing, i’ve never been a lawyer. cvj
prostitute maybe? since you wanna elevate the profession on par with law, medicine, and priesthood. so, you one of them (gentxt) prostis?
“prostitute maybe? since you wanna elevate the profession on par with law, medicine, and priesthood. so, you one of them (gentxt) prostis?” – tililing
Tililing, actually there are times prostitutes are even above the law, medicine, and priesthood – when they’re on top (WOT) of a lawyer, a doctor, and a priest. 🙂
Just a Silvanus joke…Its the health spa below Pegasus…
what does prostitution protects, cvj, your libido? i guess, by your line of reasoning, armed robbery, murder for hire, kidnapping and extortion are “professions”. perverted minds produce perverted thoughts.
tililing, when it comes to the professions of prostitution and law there is no need for elevation. so far, i haven’t heard any calls to kill all prostitutes. i can’t say the same for lawyers.
“responsible media not irresponsible media and those media who are fond of tall tales and conspiracy theories, without basis, without evidence, mere speculations”
Yes, I agree there are irresponsible media people, sometimes we call them “paparacci” but there are also unethical lawyers. In a perfect world we will have no need for both…
ramrod, got your joke. hate the person not the profession. that’s the message i wanna get across to people like cvj. hope he sticks it to his gray matter.
cvj, if you have something against lawyers, doctors, priests, hate the person not the profession. they way you mock it, it’s like your mouth is as filthy as that of a comodo dragon’s (acidic).
“what does prostitution protects, cvj, your libido? i guess, by your line of reasoning, armed robbery, murder for hire, kidnapping and extortion are “professionsâ€Â. perverted minds produce perverted thoughts.” bencard
you hit the nail where it’s at.
tililing, you have just inverted the teachings of Christ. he said hate the sin but love the sinner (i.e. the ‘person’).
““responsible media not irresponsible media and those media who are fond of tall tales and conspiracy theories, without basis, without evidence, mere speculationsâ€Â
Yes, I agree there are irresponsible media people, sometimes we call them “paparacci†but there are also unethical lawyers. In a perfect world we will have no need for both…”
lawyers can be disbarred how about irresponsible media practitioners? will they be tolerated and form part of the bacteria’s in society?
“tililing, you have just inverted the teachings of Christ. he said hate the sin but love the sinner (i.e. the ‘person’).” cvj
cvj, i’m a muslim, so?
cvj, you can teach christ to others in this blog but i’m for allah so don’t involve religion if you have some courtesy to religions, that is. but by the looks of it, you have invented a new profession, bachelor of science in mockery or shall i say you got you ph d at a pretty young age?
Well, here we go again. Why are reasonably normal people like us pecking away at the pc in a perfectly good Friday night? I don’t know about you but I’m signing off, and get a massage (hopefully with a happy ending).
ramrod, unless both parties are of same sex, right? (lol).
“ramrod, unless both parties are of same sex, right? (lol).”- bencard
Bencard, now that is not normal…
night mr. bencard
night mr. ramrod
night mr. cvj
happy weekend. just having my tililing moments.
i’ll be back to normal tomorrow
goodnight folks. happy hari raya tililing.
cvj, look at my 😀 it’s already cleaned. just brushed my teeth.
mlq3, regarding the “institutions” that you allege to have been “damaged” by the president (hyperbolically worst than any other president), it’s impossible to argue with vague generalizations. if you remember your history, elpidio quirino was portrayed as the “most corrupt” president with accusations of massive graft in connection with war damage reparations, pratra, prisco, etc., etc., along with massive election cheating, guns, goons and gold. carlos p. garcia was derided as a corrupt, incompetent, mediocre president under whose watch, the “future of the country was as dark as the color of his skin”. his administration was wracked with a number of “earth-shaking” scandals, most notable of which was the harry stonehill national shame. both quirino and garcia died relatively with no extraordinary wealth. marcos? what can i say. he not only damaged an institution or two, he damaged the whole government institution as we knew it. and estrada? need i say anything?
btw, most certainly, mlq3. i will eat the humble pie (lots of it) should gma not step down from the presidency after june 2010.
ramrod :
Well, here we go again. Why are reasonably normal people like us pecking away at the pc in a perfectly good Friday night? I don’t know about you but I’m signing off, and get a massage (hopefully with a happy ending).
—————
He he he …..ako naman eh nag hahantay lang na kahit man lang mga alas onse na nag gabi. (Its only 7:35 here)Then off I go to Baryo….
Tililing,
Yan din ang kinakainis ko sa oposisyon, laging naunahan at nauutakan ni Gloria.
Bencard says:
marcos? what can i say. he not only damaged an institution or two, he damaged the whole government institution as we knew it. and estrada? need i say anything?
————————————–
sama ako ng lima dyan. although i’m afraid gloria is marcos’ reincarnation. si marcos ang nag-umpisang sumira ng lahat ng institusyon ng pinas – kasama na ang simbahan/relehyon.
“majority of african countries are failed states. their resources is a boon and a bane since there are a lot of third parties who wants to get a piece of the pie. blood diamonds in sierra leone, angola and liberia, petroleum in nigeria”…Tililing.
And the Philippines is First World bound in 20 years, but i don’t see any signs of a country getting there. The way it is governed it will be among the failed states, unless the masses wake of their collective complacency and maybe invent another Revolution that is truly conclusive. Not necessarily taking out those rusty machetes, because it is not the personalities the revolution going to terminate, it is the culture that was somewhat taken root for being fertilized (remember joc-joc) and nurtured for a long long time…The culture of Corruptions and abuse of power and all the pleasures that come with them. And the pie that is the Philippines may not be as big and delicious, but shared among the corrupt few, it is just as satisfying….
Bencard says:
marcos? what can i say. he not only damaged an institution or two, he damaged the whole government institution as we knew it. and estrada? need i say anything?
â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ
sama ako ng lima dyan. although i’m afraid gloria is marcos’ reincarnation. si marcos ang nag-umpisang sumira ng lahat ng institusyon ng pinas – kasama na ang simbahan/relehyon.
Bakas din ako diyan. Ang ipinagtataka ko, bakit kahit isa walang naparausahan? Bakit iyong mga tuta ni Makoy pa rin ang pasimuno ng maraming gulo kahit ngayon? Inutil na ba ang karamihan sa mga Pilipino? Sabagay kilala nga tayong mapagpasensiya, matiisin kaya nga inabot ng 300 taon ang mga Kastila dito at humigit kumulang 20 taon si Makoy sa poder. Ahhhh, kailan magigising mga kabayan natin?
I don’t think this blog deserves the “personalan” presented here.
Media, religion, and this puppet, fake democratic government are but tools to perpetuate vested interests of the few.
And if we can’t shift from arguing to acting, then we truly deserve the kind of government we have today.
Lahat naman tayo magaling sa idea when it comes to good governance. Ang problema hanggang satsat lang tayo. Samantala, ang tunay na kalaban ng bayan, proactive – that is, gawa muna bago justification and whitewash o cover-up.
Kaya ba nating umaksyon muna, at tsaka na satsat?
“btw, most certainly, mlq3. i will eat the humble pie (lots of it) should gma not step down from the presidency after june 2010.” bencard
i will also eat the pie … the chicken pie that is. btw, how big is this humble pie? what’s the diameter and how thick?
“I don’t think this blog deserves the “personalan†presented here.
Media, religion, and this puppet, fake democratic government are but tools to perpetuate vested interests of the few.
And if we can’t shift from arguing to acting, then we truly deserve the kind of government we have today.
Lahat naman tayo magaling sa idea when it comes to good governance. Ang problema hanggang satsat lang tayo. Samantala, ang tunay na kalaban ng bayan, proactive – that is, gawa muna bago justification and whitewash o cover-up.
Kaya ba nating umaksyon muna, at tsaka na satsat?” cool n easy
filipinos are well known to be good at talk but sucks at walking the talk. what i can contribute is that i do my best to be a law abiding citizen (follow the rules and the law from simple traffic rules and throwing of trash), i pay my taxes on time, i allocate a portion of my time for volunteer work, i allocate a portion of my little money for charity. it might not be much but as a ordinary person that’s what i can afford to do as of the moment.
although i am for a revolution, i don’t wanna be part of these communist/militant rallies. i smell rotten duck eggs each time they go to the streets.
“sama ako ng lima dyan. although i’m afraid gloria is marcos’ reincarnation. si marcos ang nag-umpisang sumira ng lahat ng institusyon ng pinas – kasama na ang simbahan/relehyon.” dinapinoy
how did marcos destroy the catholic church (as an institution) in the philippines? or whatever church you are referring to? pls. magnify your claim
“Yan din ang kinakainis ko sa oposisyon, laging naunahan at nauutakan ni Gloria.” rego
why oh why? if the opposition really has something substantial why until now they have not presented something formidable? now they as saying, there are some revelations in the zte-nbn deal? what about the hello garci evidence? how about other allegations? where’s the evidence? have they found it or it’s non-existent?
The “Pinnochio Test” on spins(Believe or not)
1) “The Philippines is the most democratic country in our region. We have no tolerance for human rights violations at home or abroad.†GMA Speech in the UN General Assembly;Sept.28,2007
2) “My example is integrity.”
– Interview with Asiaweek
January 24, 2001
3)” The truth is I am cute and short but I am above gossip.”
April 20, 2001
4) “The days of plunder are over.”
– Press Conference
March 20, 2001
5) ” …the only way to build a brighter future for the Philippines is “leadership by example.”
– Interview with Associated Press
6) “Like Caesar’s wife, we must be above suspicion and we must see to it that morality, transparency and commitment will be supreme, always and everywhere.”
– Press Conference
March 20, 2001
7) “I have no grandiose dreams to become a great President. But I want to be a good President. Help me be a good President.”
– Speech during her first day in Malacanang, January 22, 2001
8)Our Cabinet members were chosen on the basis of competence, integrity and dedication to serve the country.”
– Press Conference, Malacanang
January 30, 2001
9) “Just articulate what we are doing, less glitz, less porma, more substance. Just be candid.”
April 20, 2001
10) “I have asked the Secretary to put a stop to stage-managed kidnappings with policemen acting as actors, directors and producers”
– Press Conference, Malacanang
April 24, 2001
MAV, if i may add to your “Pinnochio Test†:
“To ensure that our gains are not dissipated through corruption, we must improve moral standards. As we do so, we create fertile ground for good governance based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of effective implementation.” – Inauguration speech, January 20, 2001.”
CVJ: thanks!
my favorite:
“The days of plunder are over.â€Â
– Press Conference
March 20, 2001
How do we say “let’s move on“, let me count the ways…
MAV, thanks as well.
“although i am for a revolution, i don’t wanna be part of these communist/militant rallies. i smell rotten duck eggs each time they go to the streets.” – T
The revolution i’m advocating for is not the one you described above. It never crossed my mind that going to the streets is the most effective tool for a total change.
Revolution of the Mind – the reexamination of prevailing theories and beliefs, a comprehensive search for Truth, in short – Enlightenment. This is the most potent weapon against a corrupted society.
An Enlightened Mind can never be corrupted even at the pain of death.
______________________________________________________
forgive me for using T, i don’t think you deserve the whole word.
“How do we say “let’s move on“, let me count the ways…” cvj
what do you do as a citizen aside from talking a lot?