OPPOSITION MOTION IN HOUSE TO RECONSIDER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 004443

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/PMBS, EAP/IET, INR/EAP, DS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2015
TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR ASEC RP
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION MOTION IN HOUSE TO RECONSIDER
IMPEACHMENT FAILS; ANTI-ARROYO RALLIES IN MANILA

REF: A. MANILA 4221


B. MANILA 4140

C. MANILA 4040

D. MANILA 4019

Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The Opposition tried to file a motion in
the House on September 19 asking for a reconsideration of its
recent decision to quash the impeachment complaints against
President Arroyo. The effort failed, however, due to the
lack of a quorum. Opposition leaders have admitted that
their impeachment effort is all but over, although there may
be continued efforts to get the Supreme Court to review the
matter. The Opposition is sponsoring several anti-Arroyo
rallies in Manila on September 21. The largest is taking
place in the financial center of Makati. The rallies seem to
be peaceful and orderly as of 1700 hrs. With the rainy
season ending soon, the Opposition is clearly hoping to ramp
up the pressure on Arroyo by taking to the streets. End
Summary.

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Last Gasp in the House
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2. (U) The Opposition tried to file a motion in the House on
September 19 asking for a reconsideration of its recent
decision to quash the impeachment complaints against
President Arroyo. (Note: On September 6, the House voted
158-51 with four abstentions to accept the Justice Committee
report which effectively barred the impeachment complaints --
see ref b. End Note.) The effort failed, however, due to
the lack of a quorum. Only 104 of the 236 House members were
present when at least half had to be in order for there to be
a quorum in which business could be dealt with. House rules
allow only one attempt to file a motion for reconsideration
of an impeachment complaint.


3. (C) With the failure of their reconsideration motion,
Opposition leaders have publicly admitted that their
impeachment effort is all but over. They continue to
complain that Malacanang failed to allow the Opposition to
air its grievances. Ronnie Zamora, a well-known Opposition
Congressman, told Acting Pol/C on September 21 that "all of
us who are against Arroyo realize that the impeachment effort
is over, but we will continue to try to remove her from
power." Some in the Opposition have promised to continue to
pursue legal options as a possible way to get the impeachment
complaint reinstated in the House. These efforts were dealt
a blow on September 13 when the Supreme Court rejected a
petition claiming that the procedures used in the House to
quash the Opposition's main impeachment complaint were
unconstitutional. It is unclear whether the Opposition plans
to file another petition with the Supreme Court. Zamora, who
is also a lawyer, told Acting Pol/C that he doubted that
legal avenues would work, asserting that "the courts are full
of cronies of Arroyo's and will not take Opposition claims
seriously."

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More Rallies
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4. (SBU) One area where the Opposition continues to be
active is in moving forward with "people power"-type rallies.
Opposition groups, for example, are sponsoring several
anti-Arroyo rallies in Manila on September 21. The largest
is taking place in the financial center of Makati. The
Opposition is predicting that over 30,000 people will attend
this rally, but as of 1700 hrs only several thousand people
were in attendance, according to Pol FSN on the scene. Key
Opposition leaders are expected to be in attendance. Traffic
in the Makati area has been tied up due to the rally.
Leftist groups are also sponsoring two other rallies in other
areas of Manila to mark the anniversary of the declaration of
martial law in 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos and "to remember its
victims." Large numbers of police have been deployed to
monitor the protests. All of the rallies seem to be peaceful
and orderly as of 1700 hrs.

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Comment
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5. (C) The Opposition is clearly hoping to ramp up the
pressure on Arroyo by taking to the streets. Arroyo's poll
numbers continue to be poor and a new scandal has erupted
over her government's hiring of a U.S. lobbying firm (see
septel),but thus far there is no sign that the public is
planning to turn out in large numbers to join street
protests. The Opposition remains hopeful, however, that once
the rainy season ends in the next several weeks the size of
its rallies will increase, although most observers discount
that possibility.
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
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JOHNSON