Impeachment move was the product of bribery, stupid!*

YET all of the small-minded or mercenary commentators, the holier-than-thou in the ivory towers of the academe and in churches, want the Senate to pretend there was no crime of bribery involved, and to collaborate in the plot to remove Vice President Sara Duterte from the political landscape. Can’t they see this is all the Marcos 2nd clan’s desperate plot to replicate Marcos 1st’s 14-year authoritarian rule?

What gives fuel to the Marcos clan’s agenda is that it coincides with that of the US Deep State since, as the sun rises in the east, confirmed by the results of the recent elections, Sara will become president in 2028, who will follow her father’s refusal to be the American proxy against China in this part of the world.

It is sickening, although a bit hilarious if one thinks about it, how vacuous minds are invoking motherhood statements, noble principles to pressure the Senate to try Sara.

“A test of the Senate ‘s integrity,” writes the Palace apologist shamelessly imbedded in this newspaper. “A sacred duty,” declares the Yellow school of government. “Senate is obliged to do its duty,” Christian Monsod, one of the drafters of our deeply flawed Constitution, pontificated. Sen. Risa Hontiveros says if the Senate doesn’t continue the trial, it will be “a betrayal of the Constitution and the public trust.” It is shocking how a number of UP College of Law faculty naively base their arguments almost totally on the phrase “forthwith proceed.” “The Constitution is not optional,” the editorial of this newspaper nauseatingly tried to be sarcastic.

Have our elites gone mad? Have these people contracted a collective Alzheimer’s disease that they have forgotten what transpired just a few months ago in February, which started this impeachment plot, and which should be the most important thing they should analyze since it is at the essence of this impeachment issue?

House Speaker Martin Romualdez and his minions told the congressmen in February that those who sign the impeachment complaint would receive the equivalent of P150 million in the form of dole-outs for their constituents (which they will, of course, distribute to make it appear it is their money) and in small-scale infrastructure projects they can very easily skim off “commissions.” Those who don’t sign the impeachment would not get a centavo, a fearful prospect as elections were to be held less than three months away.

Thus, some 215 congressmen rushed to sign the complaint — the third actually — with such silly charges as committing “acts of political destabilization,” and even ‘insurrection.” This was also the case when Aquino III moved to remove Chief Justice Renato Corona in order for the Supreme Court to rule that his clan’s Hacienda Luisita should be paid at least P5 billion for being put under land reform. In that case, 188 representatives signed the impeachment complaint against the chief justice, most of them not even reading it.

Duty

“It is our constitutional duty to undertake the trial,” Sen. Win Gatchalian claims. Is it your duty to get the police to arrest somebody, upon whom a ton of lies has been heaped that he is a killer? Check first if the accusers were bribed to manufacture lies.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, Marcos 2nd’s campaign manager, himself revealed last month that the congressmen signed the complaint “for fear of not getting their budgets for the district” with elections just a few months away.

There is even a detailed account of such made by Cebu Rep. and Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco. In his speech posted on his Facebook page, which you yourself can view at https://ift.tt/Kh1cDdw, Frasco said (translated from Cebuano):

“The number one reason I signed the impeachment complaint is because of our programs, projects and developments here in my district. I want to ensure our programs and projects here continue. Heaven forbid, but what if all of them are stopped? The programs and projects will not continue. If I do not side with the majority in Congress, some projects might not receive support. Where will my projects go? Will I still be able to provide assistance to our fishermen? There are 16 scholars in my district, 16 scholars who are hoping to receive support from the government so they can finish their education. Support for solo parents, persons with disabilities, vendors, drivers, barangay security officers. University projects for all, the Liloan hospital, the government center, and the airport.” (You can view the video at https://ift.tt/Kh1cDdw

Arrogant

You decide whether he was naive, ignorant of the law, or being arrogant as his mother-in-law, former governor Gwen Garcia, ruled Cebu.

Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code reads in part: “Direct bribery. Any public officer who shall agree to perform an act … in connection with the performance of his official duties, in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present received by such officer, shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its medium and minimum periods …” — which is six to 15 years in prison.

Frasco agreed to “perform an act with the performance of his official duties”: He voted to impeach Vice President Sara, which is one of the most important duties of a member of Congress under Article XI, Section 3 of the Constitution, that specifies the process of impeaching a high official. He explained that he did this to ensure funding and support for his programs for his constituents.

The 1989 Graft and Corrupt Practices Act also defines as an instance of corruption requesting or receiving any gift, present, share percentage or benefit, for himself or for any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the government and any other party, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene under the law.

Guilty

The 215 congressmen are as guilty as Frasco for agreeing to be bribed to impeach Sara.

The impeachment is the fruit of a poisoned tree, and therefore cannot be taken as the will of the people, which the Senate is duty-bound to process. The 215 representatives are criminals, the bribees, with the Speaker Martin Romualdez and his minions the bribers.

Why on earth should the Senate be complicit in this criminal conspiracy? If Romualdez were removed as House speaker, and no one would be bribing the congressmen, it won’t be an exaggeration that only about a dozen representatives, will be signing the impeachment complaint: the Speaker, his wife Yedda, his son Andrew Julian, who is another party-list representative, Marcos 2nd’s son Xandro, the two Ortegas of Pangasinan (rumored to be blood-related to Marcos 1st), the two Singsons of Ilocos Sur, and Angelo Marcos Berba of Ilocos Norte, a Marcos nephew.

There should be an opportunity to arrive at the truth of this impeachment scam. Incoming senator Tito Sotto says the impeachment should have been referred to the Senate’s rules committee to determine if it is a valid complaint.

The rules committee can summon congressman Frasco to confirm his account of why he voted for the impeachment. It could also ask the 91 representatives who refused to impeach Sara if they were threatened or offered bribes by the House leadership.

Subpoena

The committee could even subpoena the budget department to provide data on what districts received the alleged ayudas and infrastructure funds that were used as bribes, and match these to those who voted for the impeachment.

Contrary to our mob of group-think commentators, the issue for democracy is not for the Senate to comply with its alleged constitutional duty to proceed with an impeachment complaint. Why would it follow the will of the bribed?

The issue confronting us is to stop this sordid practice of presidents, or of powerful politico-economic cabals, of using their power over the House, and then the Senate, to remove their enemies through impeachment. This undermines our democratic republican system, whose essence is that it is the people themselves, through the ballot, who choose their president and vice president, and not some bribable members of Congress.

I congratulate the Senate for standing up to the mob, and proving they deserve its name, derived from the Latin senatus, a council of wise old men during the Roman empire.

C’mon guys, isn’t it crystal clear that this impeachment is intended to remove from the political landscape the only person, Sara Duterte, who can stop the Marcos clan from perpetuating itself in power?

*Pardon the expletive, but I need to use this variation of Clinton’s famous election slogan, to emphasize a point.

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Impeachment move was the product of bribery, stupid!*
Source: Breaking News PH