Category: impeachment

A time to impeach

It’s crunch time for 19th Congress Reps who are reaping the consequence of the widely-watched QuadComm hearings on alleged culpabilities and betrayals of public trust by the Dutertes.  After agitating civil society so for the last three months, there is simply no justifying the claim that it’s too late to impeach the VP just because of the 2025 midterm elections coming.

Mas importante kasi ang kampanya? Then they should have put off the Quad project till after elections–bakit nagmadali? And now that the die is about to be cast, tila panic mode sila, lalo na yung mga umaasa pa rin sa boto ng mga ka-DDS, especially yung mga taga-Visayas at -Mindanao.

This is true, too, for the senators. Impeachment by the Lower House means the Upper House has no choice but to proceed with the trial, which means re-electionists will not be able to campaign as usual. Still, a trial means the Reps-Prosecutors and the Senators-Judges will be on TV every hearing day, which means free publicity. Ayun nga lang, if the defense wraps up and the court votes to acquit or convict before May 2025, magkakaalaman na kung DDS o BBM ang bawat senador, AT magkakaalaman na kung sinong papanigan ng mga botante come election day. Ito ang iniiwasan sana ng ating mga mambabatas, at ng palasyo na rin, it would seem, given how BBM has flipflopped.

Ang gusto nila, status quo, no change. Ang gusto natin, impeachment trial, at matinong pagbabago. Let the VP defend herself, ilabas lahat ng itinatago, let the chips fall where they may.

Yung kay Senator Migs, na divisive daw ang impeachment, at baka magkagulo–divided na nga po, sir. Mabuti nga’t yung mga nagra-rally for and against impeachment are all talking “mapayapang paraan”. Malay natin, baka ito pa ang makapag-unite sa taongbayan. And what about Senator Jinggoy–hindi naman daw gumanda ang buhay nung na-impeach ang tatay niya o nung natanggal ang matandang Marcos. Naku, sir, fake news ‘yan, no ifs or buts.

To think that neither Migs nor Jinggoy is a re-electionist in 2025. Maybe that’s why they dare speak up for the status quo? Nothing to lose?

A final note on the two impeachment complaints. Only the first includes betrayal of public trust for failing to condemn Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Which is not unexpected naman, considering that the second was filed by the Left, which has always been anti-U.S., but is it pro-China?  Eh ang Congress kaya?

I guess we’ll know soon enough, when we see the consolidated complaint. Hope springs.

Impeachment fizz & frenzy

Strangely, the DDS people power attempt seems to have fizzled out with the filing of impeachment complaints vs VP Sara yesterday — I’m not sure now what gave me the impression that it would fuel DDS wrath instead and swell their numbers. O baka naman they’re waiting for instructions from Harry, Trixie, and Maharlika who might be waiting for instructions from the Digong and the VP who may still be rethinking their strategies in aid of regrouping now that the process has been kicked off not by the Speaker but by civil society.

Meanwhile, as Congress takes time to determine if the complaints are actionable, the debate now is whether or not this is a good time — if there’s time — for an impeachment trial in the Senate. Many say it’s too late, Pasko na, tapos, kampanya na for May 2025; besides, ayaw ni BBM. Just as many say it’s never too late, na kung talagang gusto ng HOR, magagawan ito ng paraan.

Listening to pro-impeachment spokesperson Leila de Lima with Ted Failon today as she warned of a Sara presidency should anything happen to BBM, it was like listening to an Akbayan political pundit perorating on similar concerns to his cohorts on mainstream and social media last week, seriously dreading a Duterte restoration even before 2028. I wonder if this is who Cito Beltran was referring to:

Last week, as I surfed news and commentary programs, jumping from one station to another, I could not help but notice that several radio and online commentaries seemed to sound alike. It was almost like people were reading from the same book. Out of curiosity, I started asking my friends in media if some PR person had been going around making a pitch against the Vice President or to pour fuel into the fire, so to speak.

The first person I asked immediately and unabashedly confirmed my suspicion about the similarity in talking points and that someone had reached out to him as well. This of course is nothing new. It is common knowledge that PR firms or experts do the rounds to get the media on board concerning an issue and position.

Some appeal to a shared view, others ask help as a personal favor, and the desperate or well-funded offer 30 pieces of silver, so to speak. What’s interesting is that the PR was not a PR but a political aspirant.  https://www.philstar.com/opinion

Political aspirant nga ba? O Akbayan PR? Maybe both. But in fairness, if we’re talking about the same person, he is incredibly well-informed of goings-on behind the scenes, past and present, even from afar, sabay disclaimer that he knows anything or has anything to do with events unfolding. Quite an operator he is, and very much in his element.

sneaky snaky snarky supremes

surely, the ouster of cj sereno by fellow supremes who hate her is not good for country.  legal circles are aghast.  too many laws  defied, broken, re-interpreted.  it is all so destabilizing.  surely there is some other way of dealing with the problem.  surely a senate impeachment trial is the wiser option, let the chips fall where they may.

the original sin was pNoy’s, appointing one so young and so junior.  ang daming nilampasan, in-overtake.  kumbaga sa traffic, daig pa ni sereno ang naka-wangwang, tabi lahat ng nakapilang senior associate justices na mga next-in-line for the cj post.  at least in cj corona’s case, isa lang ang nilakdawan, ibig sabihin tipong senior na rin, may karapatan na rin si corona, besides being president gloria’s former chief of staff, or something like that.

anyway.  the original sin was pNoy’s, the mortal sin was sereno’s, for accepting the appointment.  surely she knew that she would be met with hostility, but perhaps she believed that mar roxas would succeed pNoy and then maybe leni would succeed mar, soon enough the hostile ones would have retired and LP-friendly ones appointed, and then it would all be a breeze to the end of her term.

but mar lost.  ka-DDS na ang majority supremes.  and duterte has spoken: sereno must go.  and so the house of reps got moving and built a case with the help of some five supremes, no less, and the senate has been waiting.  BUT BUT BUT what happened nga ba?

the cardinal sin was solgen calida’s.  why did he have to butt in with the quo warranto?  mahina kasi ang kaso ng house of reps?  tama ba si senator ping lacson?

PING LACSON @iampinglacson 6 hours
Ang biggest ‘winners’ sa SC decision ay ang mga abogadong pulpol na handa sanang magkalat na katangahan sa impeachment trials na hindi na mangyayari dahil malamang hindi na ipadala ng House ang Articles of Impeachment sa Senado.
11 May 2018
580 Retweets 1.4K Likes

more seriously, senate president koko pimentel is calling for the RULE OF LAW.

The Supreme Court is supreme in a lot of things but not in everything. In impeachment matters the Supreme  Court is not supreme, because the Senate is the one and only impeachment court. The Chief Justice an “impeachable official” who can be removed only after impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate.  The reputation and esteem of this present Supreme Court will now rise or fall on the basis of the soundness or unsoundness of the this controversial decision upholding a very unusual remedy to oust a sitting Chief Justice.  Let us all uphold the RULE OF LAW. The people must be given time to reiview this decision.  And the Supreme Court itself must also take the time to review its own decision.  If the supreme court is not supreme in everything then it is also not infallible in everything.  The respondent Chief Justice must be given the opportunity to file a Motion for Reconsideration.  God bless our beloved country.

if sereno is not impeached by the senate, the supremes, of course, will be no less hostile, the situation no less untenable.  sereno may have to exit the scene anyway, to keep her sanity.  but let her cross that bridge when / if she gets there.

meanwhile, here’s praying that the supremes (even just one or two? three?) graciously change their minds about the quo warranto, and soon.  if only to shut sereno up, LOL.  her media blitz is quite effective, the message quite arresting, even exciting, particularly the call for a national conversation (!) on everything that’s wrong with filipino society, before it’s too late.

the lady is hitting the ground running.  maybe there’s hope.

SALNs in a scofflaw society

Rene Saguisag

… The marathon House (of arguably namby-pamby tutas?) hearings may finally end but then there’s the remarkable and unexpected quo warranto (QW) proceeding filed by the Solicitor General Joe Calida. All along, the talk had been of RA 6713, until Rep. Vicente Veloso (former Court of Appeals justice) triggered a Eureka! moment in the Lower House, and in the SolGen’s QW petition, Compañero Joe unexpectedly hammered on RA3019, thusly:

“80. The SALN requirement in the Charter recognized what has already been in the statute books. As early as 1960, Congress imposed that requirement in RA3019. Section 7 of the law accordingly states:

“Section 7. Statement of assets and liabilities. Every public officer, within thirty days . . . after assuming office, and within the month of January of every other year thereafter, as well as upon the expiration of his term of office, or upon his resignation or separation from office, shall prepare and file with the office of the corresponding Department Head, or in the case of a Head of Department or chief of an independent office, with the Office of the President, or in the case of members of the Congress and the officials and employees thereof, with the Office of the Secretary of the corresponding House, a true detailed and sworn statement of assets and liabilities, including a statement of the amounts and sources of his income, the amounts of his personal and family expenses and amount of income taxes paid for the next preceding calendar year:….(italics added)

Interesting. If the SolGen can show me an authentic copy of a statement timely filed by him or any other incumbent where the filer disclosed the amounts and sources of his income, the amounts of his personal and family expenses and the amount of income taxes paid for the next preceding calendar year, I’ll eat it.

Read on…