OPPOSITION TRIES TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT ARROYO AGAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 002682 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR RP SUBJECT: OPPOSITION TRIES TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT ARROYO AGAIN REF: A. MANILA - OPS CENTER 06-26-2006 TELCON ¶B. MANILA 2060 ¶C. MANILA 0830 ¶D. 05 MANILA 4140 ¶E. 05 MANILA 3593 Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Members of the Opposition filed their long-anticipated second impeachment complaint against President Arroyo in the House on June 26. The 150-page complaint includes allegations that she cheated in the 2004 elections and suppressed dissent during the week-long State of National Emergency she imposed earlier this year. Malacanang appeared unfazed by the new impeachment effort. Most observers, including members of the Opposition, believe the complaint -- like its predecessor effort last year -- will fail. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On June 26, the Opposition filed a new impeachment complaint against President Arroyo. The action comes exactly one year after a private attorney filed a similar impeachment complaint, which was soundly defeated in the House before ever reaching the Senate. The 150-page document mainly rehashes the key allegations of the 2005 complaint -- that President Arroyo cheated in the May 2004 presidential elections; that members of the President's family benefited from illegal gambling operations; and that Arroyo used illegal funds in her 2004 campaign. In addition, the complaint accuses Arroyo of exercising "dictatorial powers" in suppressing political dissent by imposing a State of National Emergency in February 2006. Finally, the complaint accuses President Arroyo of condoning extrajudicial killings of leftist activists and members of the media, and ordering security forces to make "unlawful" arrests of political opponents. ¶3. (SBU) Although over 300 private citizens from various Opposition groups have signed the impeachment petition submitted on June 26, only two House representatives have endorsed it so far. Opposition leaders have said publicly that they expect to collect more endorsements in the House in coming days. Under House rules, at least one third of the 236-member chamber must endorse the complaint in order to automatically transmit it to the Senate for an impeachment trial. The House is scheduled to end its recess and reconvene on July 24, at which time Speaker Jose De Venecia must put the complaint on the order of business (see ref E for further details of the impeachment process). Opposition attorney Henry Roque told the media on June 26 that the Opposition plans to re-file the complaint every day for the rest of the week in order to guard against Administration arguments that the complaint was filed prematurely (under the Philippine Constitution, impeachment charges may be filed only once per year and Malacanang supporters claim that the Opposition has violated this provision). ¶4. (SBU) President Arroyo and her supporters appear unfazed by the Opposition's move. On June 26, President Arroyo, who is visiting the Pope in Rome, dismissed the latest impeachment bid as mere "political noise." Administration lawyer Romulo Macalintal has asked the House to dismiss the new impeachment complaint on technical grounds, claiming that the Opposition filed it incorrectly since the Supreme Court has not yet resolved questions over the 2005 impeachment complaint. Others in Malacanang ranks claim that many other technical rules were violated. ¶5. (C) Comment: Most observers believe the complaint has almost no chance of garnering the support needed to send it to the Senate for an impeachment trial. Even Congressman Ronnie Zamora, a fierce Arroyo opponent and one of the endorsers of the new impeachment complaint, conceded to Dep Polcouns on June 26 that the new effort would "probably" meet the same fate as the 2005 bid. 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/ Kenney