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Youth groups file 2nd impeach complaint vs. PNoy over DAP


Youth groups led by Youth Act Now on Tuesday filed an impeachment complaint against President Benigno Aquino III, the second one this week.
 
It was endorsed by Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon.
 
The groups accused Aquino of betraying public trust and violating the 1987 Constitution for implementing the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
 
These were the same offenses cited by the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and 27 other complainants Monday when they filed the first impeachment suit against Aquino

On Monday, Malacañang dismissed the first impeachment complaint as 'unwarranted,' insisting that President Aquino did not violate the law in implementing the controversial DAP.
 
The 23-page complaint, signed by 25 youth and student leaders, was filed before House Secretary-General Marilyn Barua-Yap. 

 
Apart from committing culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by creating and executing DAP, Aquino allegedly committed "attempted corruption of public officials" by allotting funds from the program to legislators after the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012, the petitioners said.

 
This, they added, is punishable under Article 212, in relation to the second paragraph of Article 210, of the Revised Penal Code.
 
The complainants also argued that Aquino "committed no less than 116 counts of technical malversation for approving and implementing 116 DAP-funded projects."

Constitutional recourse
 
While administration allies have said there was a slim chance that any impeachment case against Aquino would succeed, Youth Act Now national convenor and lead petitioner Victor Villanueva said it was necessary for the process to start so the public would know the truth about how DAP funds were spent.
 
“Initiating the impeachment process is our only constitutional recourse to stop the President’s deranged, self-absorbed and arrogant administration from further violating the Constitution," Villanueva said in a statement.
 
"It is an opportunity [for Aquino] to present all sides of this large-scale theft of public funds,” he added.
 
Ridon said he endorsed the complaint because he believed Aquino showed a “willful and deliberative intent to violate the Constitution” through the DAP.
 
He urged the President not to “do a GMA,” referring to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s alleged practice of bribing lawmakers in both chambers of Congress, to halt the impeachment proceedings initiated against her during her term.
 
“Aquino shouldn’t try to bribe the House and the Senate again. He should respect the constitutional process. If he can’t stand the heat of impeachment, and if he has any sliver of delicadeza left, he should know what to do,” Ridon said.
 
Airtight evidence
 
House Committee on Justice chair Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. said the panel would give “utmost urgency” to the consolidated impeachment complaint that would be referred to the panel after Congress resumes its session on July 28.
 
But while he said that the committee would study the merits of the impeachment complaints, he said its success depended on whether the petitioners were able to present a strong case against the President for allegedly committing a culpable violation of the Constitution.
 
“Two things must be present for an impeachment proceeding to succeed. One, evidence should be airtight and strong. Otherwise, hindi yan magsa-stand sa Senado kung hindi ‘yan malakas. Number two, there has to be a strong public support for it. Absent one or both, the impeachment would fail,” Tupas said. —KG/RSJ/NB, GMA News
 
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