Belmonte to colleagues: ‘Go easy’ on impeaching other officials

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. wants his colleagues at the House of Representatives to “go easy" on impeaching other government officials after the chamber successfully sent last Wednesday the impeachment case against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to the Senate for trial. Belmonte said he wants House members to focus on making and passing laws when the chamber resumes its sessions in May. “All of us has the freedom [to file impeachment complaints], but we must go easy on impeachment and concentrate on what we have right now," he said at a press briefing Thursday. He added that he did not want to give the impression that the House is “bullying" officials in government. “The House is not a bully," he said. Voting 212-46 with four abstentions, the chamber on Monday impeached Gutierrez for betrayal of public trust due to the low conviction rates during her term and her alleged inaction on five high-profile cases. The House prosecution panel, led by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, on Wednesday transmitted the approved articles of impeachment for trial to the Senate. Fariñas earlier threatened to file an impeachment complaint against Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of Gutierrez’s petition to block the House impeachment proceedings without allegedly reading the case. Belmonte, however, said Fariñas “will be very busy" in defending Gutierrez’s impeachment case at the Senate trial, and might not have time to prepare the complaints against the SC justices. He added that the House has yet to approve 20 out of the 23 priority bills of the Aquino administration, making it all the more necessary for House members to focus on their legislative tasks. P5-M House prosecution budget At the same press briefing, Belmonte also revealed that the House may allot P5 million for the “overall budget" of the prosecution team that will defend the impeachment case against the Ombudsman at the Senate trial. The amount will cover expenses on hiring private lawyers, secretaries, and the needs of witnesses, according to the Speaker. Belmonte, who once served as prosecution team member during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada in late 2000, made clear that the amount is subject to audit and liquidation. “They [the prosecution team members] must justify if they need more. This is not ex-gratia. This is subject to liquidation," he said. He added that he gave Tupas, Fariñas, and Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III the task of forming the eleven-man prosecution team which will participate the Senate trial. — LBG/KBK, GMA News