THE fourth impeachment complaint against President Gloria Arroyo in four years was filed Monday morning, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, and graft and corruption.
The complainants include Jose de Venecia III, son of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, and Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico, who disclosed the overpricing and bribery attempts in the National Broadband Project awarded to China’s ZTE Corp.; Edita Burgos, mother of missing farmer-activist Jonas Burgos; and Erlinda Cadapan and Concepcion Empeño, parents of missing University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.
Lawyer Harry Roque, Josefina Lichauco, Renato Constantino Jr., Henri Kahn, Francisco and Jose Luis Alcuaz, Rez Cortez, Virgilio Eustaquio, Leah Navarro, Danilo Ramos, Elmer Labog, Armando Albarillo, Roneo Clamor and Bebu Bulchand are also complainants.
Arroyo was charged with betrayal of the public trust for her alleged involvement in the ZTE-NBN contract; sale of the country’s gold reserve in Mt. Diwalwal to ZTE Corp. in an agreement described by the complainants as “grossly disadvantageous to the country’s interests”; and purported involvement in the tampering with the results of the 2004 elections which enabled her to win the presidency.
De Venecia failed to win the $329 million NBN contract, which the Department of Justice said in an opinion Monday was not overpriced.
The complainants also accused Arroyo of:
- Culpable violations of the Constitution: Entering into the Northrail Project without the approval of the Monetary Board and which failed to give preference to Filipino labor and investment; and extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, massacre, illegal arrest and other violations of civil and political rights.
- Bribery: Involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal; and distribution of bribe money to congressmen, which she supposedly authorized, to speed up the referral of the impeachment complaint filed against her last year by lawyer Roel Pulido to prevent the filing of a genuine complaint. (The one-year ban on the filing of a new impeachment complaint against Arroyo following Congress’ receipt of Pulido’s complaint lapsed on Saturday).
- Graft and corruption: Approval of the overpriced Northrail Project; profiting from the fertilizer scam; involvement in the “Hello, Garci” scandal in the 2004 elections; and the illegal and improper use of the P5 billion loan obtained by the Quedan Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. to fund her 2004 election campaign.
Under the rules of the House of Representatives, an impeachment complaint needs the support of at least one-third of the 240-member chamber to be transmitted to the Senate for trial. The opposition only has 28 members in the House.
The House secretary general has up to 10 session days to submit the complaint to Speaker Prospero Nograles who, in turn, has up to 10 session days to forward it to the committee on justice.
The justice committee is given 60 session days to decide if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance and endorse it for a plenary vote.–Yvonne T. Chua
(Download the full text of the fourth impeachment complaint, as well as those filed in 2005, 2006 and 2007.)