Impeach-Corona brains is himself impeachable?

POSTSCRIPT

Impeach-Corona brains is himself impeachable?

By Federico D. Pascual Jr.

The days between Christmas and New Year are usually dull and desultory for city creatures who do not have the time or the means to hie off to some resort or a foreign vacation spot.

Those looking for a quick fix to that problem can drive or take the bus tomorrow to Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga and get more than a break. Thrown in with the fun and touch of local color is the feeling of involvement in helping victims of storm Sendong.

Visitors to the acacia-lined parade ground in the Stotsenberg area of Clark are invited to join at 6 p.m., or before sundown tomorrow, a moving giant Human Chain focused on praying and consolidating donations for Sendong victims.

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CLARK OFFERINGS: President and CEO Felipe Antonio B. Remollo of Clark Development Corp. said the event was organized by CDC, Clark locators, local governments, business groups and non-government organizations in Pampanga and Tarlac.

“We invite all those in love with nature, who appreciate ethnic traditions and who sympathize with calamity victims of Northern Mindanao,” Remollo said.

Pampanga’s famous giant parol (up to 40-foot wide) will be rolled out and made to “dance” with their psychedelic LED rope lights to add a festive mood to the Human Chain. This is the chance for city dwellers to see authentic Capampangan lanterns in their local setting.

To maximize their enjoyment, visitors can stay overnight. They will then have time to savor Pampangueña cuisine, play golf, try their luck at the casino, go on a family picnic under giant acacias, go horseback-riding, swim and enjoy water-fun, or experience eco-tourism at a nature ranch.

About 80 kilometers from the Balintawak tollgate, Clark Field is just an hour’s leisurely drive via the North Luzon Expressway.

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IMPEACHMENT: Back to the burning issues, there are some critical observers who see the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona not as a constitutional crisis, but more of a “crisis of the presidency.”

Among them is former Senate Majority Leader Francisco S. Tatad, who said after analyzing the events leading to the impeachment that President Noynoy Aquino was in effect a corruptor of congressmen, thus making him also impeachable.

He recalled that “on orders of President Aquino, 188 members of the House of Representatives, which has the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, have impeached Chief Justice Corona without reading the Articles of Impeachment, and without a committee hearing or a floor debate.”

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TATAD SAID: “At first Malacañang tried to deny its involvement. But a Malacañang ally quickly disabused the public by saying the impeachment complaint was drafted at the Palace. And the President, who likes to be called P-Noy, formally thanked the congressmen for their ‘help.’

“In making the congressmen sign an unread document in exchange for certain tangible gifts, P-Noy unduly risked his political reputation for being previously incorrupt. Critics see him now as the first corruptor of Congress.

“In their view, he has made himself impeachable in the very act of impeaching the Chief Justice. He, rather than Corona, should be the one impeached for culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes.”

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SENATE ROLE: “These are strong words, but nothing more than words. Having full control of the House, P-Noy is in no danger of ever getting impeached, whatever wrong he does. But he has provoked a constitutional crisis, and strong words and strong passions are the first elements of this crisis.

“The Articles of Impeachment, consisting of eight charges, are now in the Senate. The Senate has the sole power to try and decide impeachment cases. All 23 sitting senators have taken their oath to render ‘impartial justice.’ Some of them, however, seem to take a cavalier view of the impeachment process.

“They say that impeachment is nothing but a political process, to be decided on the basis of public opinion, not on the basis of the evidence. If that were the case, then the Senate should have no role in it.

“The case should be put to the people in a referendum, which should tell us what the ‘public opinion’ is, so long as everyone participates and the process is not rigged.”

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HOW WILL IT END?: “But that is not what the Constitution says. Impeachment is a constitutional process. The Senate tries and decides all impeachment cases, on the basis of the evidence, not on the basis of party line or personal sentiment of the ‘judges.’

“Now, a former assemblyman and former national president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines has asked the Supreme Court to restrain the Senate from hearing the complaint, on the ground that the allegations are all null and void. Lawyer Vicente Millora is the first one. Others, including the IBP itself, could follow suit.

“What happens then if and when the Court finds the complaint invalid? Would the President recognize and respect such a ruling, given the fact that he seems to believe he is free not to obey what the Court says?

“Would it not create a crisis so grave that the only possible outcome would be either to completely scrap the Constitution or to remove the President?

“Should the case come to trial, P-Noy may have to move heaven and earth to make sure the Chief Justice is convicted. Can he do to the Senate what he did to the House without creating a farce? And supposing he fails, how will it all end? Nobody knows.”

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