As I See It : Why is Ms Arroyo afraid of impeachment trial?

First posted 01:52am (Mla time) Aug 19, 2005
By Neal H. Cruz
Inquirer News Service

WE Filipinos have a saying for it: "Kung ayaw mo ng santong dasalan, daanin natin sa santong paspasan [If you don't want to settle it peacefully, we'll do it violently]."

That's what may happen eventually because of the way administration congressmen are blocking the impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with all sorts of procedural technicalities. This dirty trick may do what the second envelope did during the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada. Pro-Estrada senators, using the tyranny of numbers, voted down the opening of the second envelope that was thought to contain damaging evidence against Estrada. The people got angry and trooped to the Edsa highway for another "people power" demonstration and then proceeded to Mendiola Street, threatening to storm Malacañang, forcing Estrada to leave the Palace. If pro-Arroyo congressmen make a similar mistake by blocking the impeachment case with technicalities, the people may lose their patience and resort to violence.

Why are they afraid of an impeachment trial anyway? If Ms Arroyo is innocent of the charges, she will be acquitted. Ms Arroyo herself challenged the opposition to impeach her instead of resorting to people power. Other sectors, including the Catholic bishops, urged anti-Arroyo forces to use constitutional means (meaning impeachment) to replace her. And that's what they did: file impeachment charges.

But it has now become obvious why Ms Arroyo dared the opposition to impeach her: The impeachment complaint will never reach the Senate for trial. Her minions in the House of Representatives will see to that.

That has been the tactic of Ms Arroyo forces from the very beginning, to block the presentation of evidence through technicalities. When Congress was canvassing the votes for president and vice president, pro-Arroyo legislators blocked all attempts by the opposition to present evidence of cheating through technicalities. They are applying the same tactic to the impeachment complaint. And it is the sad misfortune of the Philippines that its Congress has too many lawyers who can make white look black and vice versa. When the Chinese communists revolted against the Chang Kai-shek regime, one of the first things they did was shoot all the lawyers. They were right. China is now among the most economically progressive nations in the world in spite of its gargantuan population. I am not advocating the same thing here, but let that be a warning to the lawyers in Congress blocking impeachment.

"If you can't win a case, delay it," says an old saying among lawyers. And all throughout the Arroyo scandals, that has been the grand strategy: delay the case or block the presentation of evidence, be it in the canvassing of votes, impeachment case, or the "jueteng" illegal lottery investigation. Sen. Lito Lapid, chair of one of the two committees investigating the jueteng payola, wants to end the probe even while more evidence is coming out and more witnesses are waiting to testify. Why? Because evidence is piling up to damn the First Family and Lapid's prominent constituents in Pampanga province.

Ms Arroyo is in deep s--t because of the widespread impression that she cheated in the last elections. She is a usurper, a squatter in Malacañang, a pretender, illegitimate, the people say. Eight out of every 10 Filipinos nationwide want her out of Malacañang. But the unelected "president" stubbornly refuses to leave, denying that she cheated in spite of the damning evidence of the "Hello, Garci" tapes. If she really won "fair and square," as she claims, she should be eager to open the election returns to prove it. The fastest and surest way to resolve the issue is to recount the votes. Instead, her police force has resorted to an illegal raid to seize evidence of cheating.

Even if the impeachment case is successfully blocked, she cannot rest easy. The people will continue to believe that she stole the presidency. The crux of her problem is her legitimacy. If she can prove that she was legitimately elected, her troubles would be over. The people would accept her.

But why are her minions in the House (who obviously get their marching orders from Malacañang) afraid to do that? Without an impeachment trial, Ms Arroyo won't be able to present her side. She won't be able to convince the people that she did win "fair and square." She will continue to be an illegitimate president in their minds, and they will not stop trying to unseat her. Her life until her term ends would be hell on earth, with one crisis following another. In time, the funds in the treasury used to bribe witnesses and congressmen would be exhausted, and even her staunchest defenders will get battle fatigue or see the light and desert her.

That is why the opposition is now bringing its case to the people. If they cannot get a fair hearing in the House, they will bring their evidence to the people. That is fraught with danger -- to the President and her supporters. If the people are convinced that Ms Arroyo cheated and the congressmen are preventing the evidence to be shown, they may resort to violence. The people braved tanks, cannons and soldiers during the Ferdinand Marcos regime. They will do the same thing if they are sufficiently infuriated. And what Ms Arroyo has been doing has been more infuriating than what Marcos did during martial law. Ms Arroyo has created a whole new industry employing witnesses who lie for pay. Bribery has become routine in her administration, the recipients being Commission on Election officials, congressmen, witnesses for sale and policemen and politicians of all shapes and sizes.

They're afraid of an impeachment trial for only one reason: Ms Arroyo is guilty.