Take two....

Earlier this morning, in a scene perhaps haunted by memories of last year's botched impeachment attempt, oppositions solons filed a new impeachment complaint consisting of 150 pages and signed by at least 200 complainants against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, accusing her of willful and culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

The charges cover alleged violations ranging from electoral fraud, vote buying and cheating during the 2004 elections, condonation of illegal gambling, unconstitutional issuances, to violations of human rights.

This time, it seems the opposition has learned its lessons, and is not taking any chances with alleged administration "plants" beating them to the punch by filing bogus impeachment complaints ahead of them.

So what happens next? You're guess is as good as mine. With Congress seemingly rendered ineffective by stalemated talks of charter change, term extensions and such, the new impeachment complaints represent a possibility of achieving true closure for last year's various political controversies, not to mention a chance to hold the President accountable for unconstitutional executive measures such as Executive Order No. 464 and Proclamation No. 1017.

The point is, it doesn't really matter if you're pro-GMA or anti-GMA. Despite her position as President of the republic, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not above the law. She should be made to answer the accusations against her in a forum sanctioned by law...and that is nothing else, nothing less than impeachment.

What really ticks me off over last year's impeachment attempt was that the majority of the members of Congress voted not in favor of getting to the bottom of things, but rather as a matter of political convenience and blatant suppression of any attempt to uncover the truth. It is not as if they were voting to convict the President, but only to investigate her, to determine if there is indeed truth to any of the accusations. And yet, the complaint was dismissed, despite the plethora of prima facie evidence, which even included an admission and an apology. Truly a travesty any way you look at it.

Well, this is a chance set things straight once and for all. If the President truly is innocent, she should step up to the plate and face the charges. Nothing else will do if she wants to salvage whatever credibility she has left. And if her political lackeys do her another favor and kill the complaint again, it would just be a confirmation of what we have possibly known long before - that Congress has ceased to be truly representative of the sentiments of the people, and that has degenerated into an institution solely concerned with the furtherance of political wheeling and dealing.

I'm still hoping for the best. What else can we do?

Related Posts:

Emergency over...or is it?
Tell it to the marines....
State of emergency....
End of days?
The fishy smell of EO 464....
In search of the truth....
The final nail in the coffin....
The truth always prevails....
Safety in numbers....
Mea culpa....

Links:

Blog Lecture No. 6: Impeachment

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