MAJORITY SEEMS SET TO WRAP UP IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 004019 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/IET, EAP/PMBS, INR/EAP, INR/B, DS NSC FOR GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR ASEC RP SUBJECT: MAJORITY SEEMS SET TO WRAP UP IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS AMID OPPOSITION PROTESTS REF: A. OPS CENTER - MANILA 08/31/05 TELCON ¶B. MANILA 3994 ¶C. MANILA 3901 ¶D. MANILA 3391 ¶E. MANILA 3154 Classified By: Political Officer Timothy Cipullo for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The pro-Arroyo Majority in the House voted August 31 to disallow the Opposition's impeachment complaint against President Arroyo in favor of a weaker complaint filed earlier by a private citizen. There are also reports that the Majority is planning to throw out this remaining impeachment complaint on technical grounds. Most Opposition members have walked out of the hearings, asserting that Malacanang is trying to stifle debate. The Opposition promises that it will continue its anti-Arroyo efforts by other means, such as rallies, but there is little sign that its call for protests is gaining much traction among the general public. End Summary. -------------- Majority: Firmly in Charge -------------- ¶2. (U) The House Justice Committee resumed hearings on the impeachment complaints filed against President Arroyo on August 31 (ref b). Most Opposition lawmakers boycotted the proceedings. The issues under discussion in the hearing were quite technical and procedure-related, but the vote taken during the session basically sounded the death knell for the Opposition's impeachment effort. Late in the day, over the vociferous objections by the handful of Opposition representatives in attendance, the Committee voted 48 to 4 that the original impeachment complaint filed by private citizen Oliver Lozano invalidated the amended petition filed by Opposition lawmakers on July 25 (ref d). A third petition filed by another private citizen was also ruled out of order. The August 31 vote took place after Majority lawmakers suddenly reconvened the Committee late August 30 and voted 52 to 2 that the three impeachment petitions were distinct and could be voted on one by one (most Opposition lawmakers had already walked out by the time of the vote). ¶3. (C) Having determined which complaint to consider, the Committee will now move on to debate whether the Lozano complaint is sufficient in form and substance. This will culminate in a decision either to throw it out or to send it to the Senate for trial. Contacts report that the Majority is planning to throw out the Lozano complaint on technical grounds. Congressman Gilberto Teodoro, a pro-Arroyo legislator, told Acting Pol/C on August 31 that "it was all over for the impeachment effort -- the Lozano complaint will be thrown out, too." -------------- Opposition Frustration -------------- ¶4. (U) As mentioned, most Opposition lawmakers chose to boycott the August 31 proceedings, asserting that the Majority was denying them the chance to air their charges. Representative Teodoro Casino, from the leftist party list group Bayan Muna, stated: "we will not be party to this sham." Opposition leaders asserted that the decision to accept the original impeachment complaint filed by Lozano in June was part of a "plot" by Malacanang "to inoculate" the President against impeachment charges. ¶5. (U) On this latter point, former Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, a former Cabinet member who has turned against Arroyo, publicly claimed that she had heard the President instruct a political advisor to have a pro-Arroyo representative endorse Lozano's complaint earlier this year. The Opposition claims the Administration accepted the Lozano complaint (which is very weak in substance) in order to forestall more serious charges by the Opposition. (Note: Under Philippine law, only one impeachment complaint may be filed against an official within a year, which places a premium on precedence. End Note.) Soliman said Malacanang had pressed Lozano to move forward with his complaint knowing full well that it could be dismissed later on technical grounds. Malacanang has strongly denied the charges. ¶6. (C) As the Committee met, several hundred left-leaning protesters kept up a vigil outside the House of Representatives complex in Quezon City. Demonstrators repeated calls for Arroyo's resignation. Police scuffled with several groups of protesters armed with sticks and rocks, and several injuries were reported among both protesters and security forces. In an interview conducted outside the House of Representatives, Brother Eddie Villanueva, leader of the Evangelical Christian "Jesus Is Lord" movement, said that he is willing to lead Opposition supporters into the streets "if the Constitutional process fails." (Note: There were also reports that two other Opposition leaders, Susan Roces and Corazon Aquino, planned to address demonstrators in the vicinity of Congress. End Note.) In an August 31 conversation with Opposition Congressman Ronnie Zamora, Acting Pol/C underscored the importance of respecting law and order, and ensuring that no violence took place. Zamora said the Opposition understood this. He added that there was considerable frustration among some anti-Arroyo elements who felt that Arroyo had gone back on a promise to allow impeachment charges to be discussed in the House. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) With the impeachment route virtually foreclosed at this point, the Opposition has promised that it will continue its anti-Arroyo effort by other means, such as rallies and press briefings. There is little sign that its call for protests is gaining much traction among the general public, however. So far, the crowds appearing in the vicinity of Congress have been quite small by Filipino standards. It is possible that the bare-knuckled way Malacanang has imposed its will on the impeachment process could spark some broader concerns. Some normally neutral observers have told us that the Majority's actions have made a poor impression. The Opposition, no doubt, will try to take advantage of any sympathy it receives in the hope that it can revive its flagging anti-Arroyo campaign. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ JOHNSON