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Miriam: Tupas should inhibit from impeach proceedings


(Updated 9:21 p.m.) Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday said House justice committee chairman Niel Tupas should inhibit from the impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. "I do not see how (Tupas) can possibly continue in that capacity when he has a very obvious personal case in the case against Ombudsman Gutierrez. I think that good manners and right conduct dictates that he should at least inhibit himself," said Santiago. The feisty senator was referring to the case of Tupas' father, former Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr., who in 2007 was ordered dismissed for dishonesty, grave misconduct, and gross neglect of duty in connection with a million-peso quarrying project in their province. [See: Ombudsman junks Iloilo gov's appeal] In addition, the younger Tupas is himself facing a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged 'ghost seminars' reportedly organized by the lawmaker between 2004 and 2007 when he was still a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Interviewed after the House hearing, Tupas said that there is "no basis" for calls for him to inhibit in the impeachment proceedings, and insisted that he has remained "impartial" throughout the hearings. "Tingin ko it is interparliamentary courtesy na bigyan din ng respesto ‘yung branch of government dahil ‘yung Korte Suprema na mismo ang nagsabi na walang basehan yung panawagan sa inhibition ng chairman," he told reporters in an separate interview. Tupas likewise noted that Santiago herself did not inhibit during the plea bargaining agreement probe in the Senate, which involved her brother, former military chief Benjamin Defensor. "Ang pagkakaalam ko, sa investigation on the plea bargaining agreement, may nanawagan din na mag-inhibit din si Senator Miriam Santiago, pero hindi rin siya nag-inhibit," he said.
Why expedite the hearings? In an interview with Senate reporters, Santiago said there is no need to expedite the hearings against Gutierrez. "I don’t see what is the big hurry. I mean, what is the national interest that might be jeopardized if we do not start the impeachment proceedings immediately?" she said. She explained that Gutierrez's motion for reconsideration is still pending before the Supreme Court so the House of Representatives should let Gutierrez exhaust all of her legal remedies before they push through with the proceedings. "You cannot execute the judgment, you cannot act on it in any capacity until it has become final and executory. Why do we have to rush the judgment about this? Why can't we wait 15 days?" she said. Santiago likewise said she was not impressed with how the lawmakers at the House of Representatives were handling the impeachment hearings. "Pwede ba magbasa muna tayo tungkol sa impeachment? Yun mga (Can we first read about impeachment? The) legal documents about impeachment, its context, protocols, in political science, we cannot just open our mouths there and vent off steam as if we were a volcano about to explode," she said. She added that maybe the televised coverage of the proceedings is affecting the performance of the congressmen. "Law is a very serious matter. It’s not a matter of melodrama or theatrics in front of the television set, you should make sense... it seems that these people are not even sure of what their evidence is," she said. Santiago also warned lawmakers from turning the proceedings into an "anti-Arroyo movement." "Do not use a legal issue to cloak or disguise a political issue. So that the public would not be misled," she said. Moreover, she said proponents of the complaint must make sure that they have enough numbers to impeach Gutierrez because they are "distracting" the resources of government and the time and energy of the country's officials. Resumption of hearings Last week, the House committee on justice voted to resume the hearings on the impeachment complaints against the Ombudsman. In a 21-5 vote, the House panel approved a motion, filed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, to give Gutierrez an additional three days to answer the impeachment complaints against her. The House decision effectively resumed the proceedings on the impeachment complaints against the Ombudsman. The House move came more than a week after the Supreme Court allowed the House committee on justice to continue hearing the impeachment complaints. In its February 15 ruling, the high court said the Ombudsman was not denied due process, as she had claimed, because she can answer the charges against her before the House panel. Friendship In issuing the call for Tupas' inhibition, Santiago stressed that she is not defending the Ombudsman because of their friendship. "I am friends with her but I am talking from the standpoint of a lawyer. I don’t know if the chairman is a lawyer or not. I feel very appalled by what he is doing," she said. Earlier in the day, Senator Francis Pangilinan asked Gutierrez to resign before the House impeaches her. No other senator, however, echoed Pangilinan's call, as the matter could reach the Senate for the trial proper. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News