Cebu rep details how impeachment bribery worked
IN a video-recorded speech, Cebu representative and deputy speaker Vincent Franco described in detail why he and most likely the 239 other congressmember-signatories agreed to be bribed to vote for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment: They feared getting zero funds for their projects in their districts.
Only House Speaker Martin Romualdez could have ordered anyone to undertake such bribery.
The report was a scoop — i.e., unreported elsewhere in Manila-based mainstream media — by The Manila Times’ Jan Kaiser Fuentes yesterday.
The US-educated 40-year-old congressman, the husband of President Marcos’ tourism secretary, Christina Garcia Frasco, gave details of how Romualdez’s bribery mechanism worked. His justification for agreeing to the impeachment of Duterte in effect was: “Yes, I was bribed to vote against the vice president, but I did it for you, dear constituents.” He asked rhetorically: “What would happen to our scholars and projects if I ended up with no budget, as those who did not side with the majority were not prioritized?”
Frasco said that failing to align with the majority could lead to delays in requests, programs and projects, possibly resulting in a “zero” budget for his office.
Going by Frasco’s statements and revelations by other House members, Speaker Romualdez’s minions offered P50 million from the so-called Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, as well as P100 million in public works projects for them to vote against Duterte.
Romualdez
No wonder Romualdez could get 240 House members to sign the impeachment complaint.
Having studied in the Jesuits’ Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Frasco justified his betrayal of his oath of office in classic Jesuitic argumentation. He washed his hands of complicity in the political assassination plot, saying it was not the House that determines Sara’s guilt or innocence. It was the Senate that had that task, he argued.
However, he refused to understand that a House asking for an impeachment of a high official is just like a prosecutor (or an alleged victim) accusing somebody of a crime. Such a House, a prosecutor or alleged victim are not passive players, they are accusing someone of a crime.
The Manila Times quoted Frasco as saying he did not want his programs and projects, such as scholarships, to be put at risk, claiming that more than 16,000 students benefit from his district’s scholarship program.
“Because of you [Frasco’s constituents], I joined the majority [that impeached Duterte]. I don’t want our programs and projects to be at risk, such as our scholarships,” the Manila Times quoted Frasco. “Opposing the majority could jeopardize funding for various initiatives, including support for persons with disabilities, fisherfolk, solo parents, students, drivers and vendors, as well as infrastructure projects like the airport terminal in the Camotes Islands,” this paper quoted him.
Conflict
The Manila Times report also revealed that his vote was because of a “personal conflict with Sara.” That is, his voting to impeach Sara was a means of getting back at her.
Frasco said that in July 2023, his wife, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, faced a backlash over her department’s controversial “Love the Philippines” advertising campaign, as the video for it used footage not of Philippine scenes but of other countries, including Brazil, Indonesia and Switzerland.
While the video promotion, made by a private advertising firm, naturally sparked widespread outrage that led to the firing of its creators, Frasco claimed without presenting proof, that Sara’s allies played a role in amplifying the criticisms. He said, without presenting evidence, that he discovered who was behind the online attacks, and that these were Sara’s supporters.
According to Frasco, his wife personally sought Sara’s help in asking the latter’s allies to tone down the social media attacks, but Sara refused, saying that she had no control over bloggers who fiercely denounced his wife for the fiasco, demanding her resignation. Frasco also revealed that his wife also asked Sara for a statement of support, similar to those given by the President, senators and mayors, but the vice president declined.
Slighted
The Manila Times reported that Frasco was further slighted by Sara on two other occasions, a factor in his voting her impeachment.
Frasco said that a month after the controversy, Duterte visited his district without notifying or inviting him, and met with his political opponent instead of the Durano political clan of Danao City of the same congressional district. She returned a year later and did the same thing, this time in Carmen town.
Sources claimed that it was Frasco — whose wife’s mother is Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, the matriarch of the powerful clan that currently rules the province — who convinced eight Cebuano lawyer-politicians to sign the impeachment complaint — Cebu City 2nd District Rep. Eduardo Rama; Lapu-Lapu City’s lone district Rep. Cindi Chan; Mandaue City’s lone district Rep. Lolypop Ouano-Dizon; and five representatives of Cebu province — 1st District Rep. Rhea Mae Gullas, 2nd District Rep. Edsel Galeos, 4th District Rep. Janice Salimbangon, 6th District Rep. Daphne Lagon and 7th District Rep. Peter John Calderon.
The Manila Times reported: “Gubernatorial candidate Pamela Baricuatro denounced their decision, urging Cebuanos to hold them accountable. She accused the lawmakers of betraying public trust and ignoring the will of their constituents. Baricuatro warned the public not to forget what she called their ‘irresponsible actions’ and insisted that they had undermined unity by aggressively pursuing Duterte’s impeachment.”
Duterte
As a staunch Duterte ally and challenger to incumbent governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Baricuatro criticized the lawmakers for moving forward with the complaint despite Sara Duterte’s overwhelming electoral support in Cebu.
In the 2022 elections, Duterte received 1,772,999 votes in Cebu province, surpassing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who garnered 1,515,812 votes. In Cebu City, Duterte secured 360,428 votes, while Marcos obtained 325,060.
Poor Frasco, caught in the middle of the Marcos-Romualdez political assassination plan against Sara.
Instead of an impeachment trial, the Senate should undertake an investigation into how Romualdez could tear down the integrity of the House of Representatives, how easily the Marcos clan could use that chamber to perpetuate itself in power, for, as I calculated in my last column, at least 18 years. Sara is the best bet for our fragile democracy to flourish. I don’t think she has the kind of DNA the Marcoses are proving to have, that is pushing them to perpetuate themselves in power as long as they can, even if they violate all the rules of decency.
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Cebu rep details how impeachment bribery worked
Source: Breaking News PH
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