MANILA, 2 September 2005 — A day after a committee at the Philippine House of Representatives dismissed all three impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a pro-opposition lawmaker pulled out from the ranks of pro-impeachment lawmakers.
Rep. Rodolfo Agbayani of Nueva Vizcaya province said he was retracting his endorsement of one of the complaints, an amended version of the original filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano, because the justice committee did not recognize it.
The amended complaint, which was crafted by the opposition, accused Arroyo of three major crimes, including betrayal of the public trust.
On Wednesday, the administration-dominated committee junked the amended complaint along with a second one filed by lawyer Jose Rizalino Lopez and upheld Lozano’s complaint, which legal experts considered as the weakest of the three.
Later in the day, with the opposition boycotting the proceedings, Arroyo’s allies killed Lozano’s complaint, saying they found to be “insufficient in substance.”
In his sworn manifestation of withdrawal, Agbayani said: “I am now executing this sworn manifestation to clarify and state my stand that I should now be considered as having not endorsed any impeachment complaint including the amended complaint.”
Besides, Agbayani said he would be out of the country by the time the committee would submit its report to the plenary.
“I am leaving for abroad on Sept. 4 — a trip that has been planned, prepared, and scheduled in the special committee on reforestation of which I am a member, long before the filing of the impeachment complaints,” he said.
Agbayani’s withdrawal brought down the number of signatories to 49, still short of the 79 votes needed to bring it directly to the Senate for trial or reverse the report of the justice committee.
Yesterday, opposition lawmakers said they have formed teams to seek support for their bid to gather more support to overturn the committee decision. The committee’s decision could be overturned if the opposition gets at least 79 lawmakers — one-third of the House — to vote against it, possibly as early as Monday, and send the impeachment complaint directly to the Senate for trial.
“The minority has formed several teams to go after several signatories,” said Rep. Teddy Casi?o of the left-wing Bayan Muna party. “It’s make-or-break before Monday.”
Pro-Arroyo lawmakers acknowledged that the impeachment drive could be salvaged.
“It will be a numbers game,” said justice committee chairman Rep. Simeon Datumanong. “If the opposition will have the so-called magic one-third, or 79 of the members, then they can reverse the committee report.”
An impeachment team leader, Rep. Francis Escudero, was not disheartened.
“It cannot be denied that this is an uphill battle,” he said. “But we are not going to stop until we get 79 or even more than that.”
Opposition legislators, watching the committee proceedings on TV late Wednesday after walking out of the session hall the day before, cried foul and warned that the country’s third “people power” revolt loomed.
Clashes between riot police and anti-Arroyo demonstrators injured 11 protesters on Wednesday but there was little sign that allegations that Arroyo rigged last year’s election were generating the emotions — or masses — that fueled the peaceful ousters of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Arroyo’s predecessor, President Joseph Estrada, in 2001.
The opposition claimed it was railroaded, saying the committee hearing was a well-orchestrated sham. Pro-Arroyo lawmakers claimed the opposition was using its own theatrics. They called the walkout a desperate, premeditated bid to trigger street protests. (Input from Inquirer News Service & The Associated Press)
