Impeachment rap vs. Gutierrez ismissed

[vito corleone]

walanghiya talaga mga magnanakaw kung dumiskarte, itinataon na abala ang mga tao para hindi mapansin at pag-usapan


http://www.gmanews.tv/story/173397/i...sman-dismissed



The House committee on justice on Tuesday junked the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez by a vote of the “absolute majority."

The committee, chaired by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor and composed of mostly administration congressmen, said the complaint lacked substance.

"[The allegations in complaint] are bare conclusions of facts and law, and innuendos which border on editorializing," said Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan, one of those who voted to junk the complaint.

Defensor did not declare the formal results of the voting, only saying that the "absolute majority"- or more than half of the committee's 55 regular members - voted to dismiss the complaint.

Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa said 37 voted in favor of dismissing the complaint.

The move was met with protests from minority lawmakers, who said their votes had not been counted.

[SIZE=2]Ombudsman hails dismissal of impeach complaint[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]
The Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday the junking of an impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez at the House of Representatives.

Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. said the junking showed that Gutierrez has not been remiss in her duties, and that she "diligently performs her functions."

"We are happy that an absolute majority of the House Committee on Justice was able to see through the impeachment complaint filed against Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez," De Jesus said in a statement posted on the Ombudsman Web site.

De Jesus applauded justice committee chairman Rep. Matias Defensor for being "fair and having political will" to proceed with the voting despite objections from the pro-impeachment congressmen.

He also said the hearing showed the "independence" of the House of Representatives, which he said treated the impeachment complaint beyond politics.

The complaint against Gutierrez, a law school batch mate of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, stemmed from allegations she sat on graft cases involving the First Family and their allies. - GMANews.TV[/SIZE]

"Sa pagmamadali nilang i-dismiss ang complaint sa Ombudsman habang ang atensyon ng publiko ay nasa relief ops sa mga biktima ng Ondoy, nalimutan nilang pabotohin ang minoriya," said Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño, one of the complainants’ endorsers.

(In their rush to dismiss the complaint against the Ombudsman, taking advantage of the public’s attention to the relief operations for Ondoy victims, they forgot to count the minority’s votes.)

A total of 246 people have been confirmed dead while 567,417 were forced to flee their homes due to floods and landslides due to last Saturday's onslaught of tropical storm "Ondoy" in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

'Railroaded'

Another lawmaker said the junking of the complaint was "railroaded."

“They didn’t want a debate on the merit and substance of the complaint, they just railroaded it. Our appeal and protests were ignored," said Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, another endorser, in a statement.

The committee declared the 33-page complaint sufficient in form last May 5.

After dismissing it as insufficient in substance, the committee will bring its report to the plenary, where a favorable one-third vote from the chamber's 268 members is needed for committee's decision to be overturned and for the complaint to be transmitted to the Senate.

The complaint was filed by former Senate President Jovito Salonga and 30 other civil society leaders last March. It charged Gutierrez with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution in the handling of several controversies.

These include the Mega Pacific and corruption case against former Elections chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., the World Bank mess regarding the sanctioning of three Filipino construction firms over alleged collusion, and the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, among others.

Gutierrez, a batch mate of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo at the Ateneo Law School, has repeatedly denied the allegations. - GMANews.TV

[donrobert]

ganun talaga malinis dumiskarte