Government and business leaders in Negros Occidental yesterday welcomed the junking with finality of three impeachment complaints against President Benigno Aquino III by the House Committee on Justice, while militant and church leaders slammed the move.

After a vote of 54-4 with no abstention on all three impeachment complaints, Justice Committee chairman and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., declared the impeachment raps against the President dismissed for insufficiency in substance .

“The committee has decided to dismiss the three impeachment complaints against the president. We will now prepare the committee report for plenary. In the plenary, all the 290 members will vote to know if they will sustain the decision of the committee on justice, or they will over rule the committee. This is a reflection of vote of sentiment of the entire House,” Tupas said.

Neg. Occ. Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the impeachment complaints against the president had no basis. “It is very good that they were dismissed,” he said.

Bacolod Rep. Evelio Leonardia said, over all, while the facts were established, the Justice Committee took it in the light of whether such were impeachable.

“I have talked with Committee Chairman Neil Tupas Jr. and I agree that what is basic and essential is that there was no betrayal of public trust, because the good faith of President Noynoy is his hallmark that so many still believe in.”

“With the unprecedented progress and development that the President has brought to this country, let us not dwell anymore on technicalities and politics, the time has come for all of us to move forward,” he said.

Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (Neg. Occ., 4th District) said “That is part of our democratic process, let us just respect the decision of the Committee on Justice.”

Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said “It really was a useless exercise in the first place.”

Frank Carbon, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said “The business sector is very, very pleased with the junking of the said impeachment raps against PNoy. The local and foreign investors viewed the impeachment raps as a threat to political stability, and investors will hold or postpone their investments if there is political instability and policy directions are blurred.”

Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that, from the start, the complainants did not have the numbers to impeach the president, so the dismissal by the justice committee was expected.

Fr. Felix Pasquin, rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City, said the junking of the impeachment complaints was to be expected as the House is dominated by the president’s allies.

“We cannot expect them to rise above the level of pork. The pork has hardened their hearts, making them insensitive to people's sentiments. A sad day indeed,” Pasquin said.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, who is from Negros Occidental, condemned the killing of the impeachment complaints against the president.

The three complaints were dismissed separately by a vote of 54-4. The four who opted for the three complaints were Colmenares and Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, and Gabriela Representatives Luz Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus.

“This seems to be orchestrated by Malacañang and the Liberal Party because committee members did not even listen to the arguments establishing the sufficiency in substance of the complaints,” Colmenares claimed in a press statement.

“The complaints are sufficient in form and substance but the committee chose to follow Malacañang...It is a terrible day for accountability indeed,” he said.

Today, we have heard and witnessed a ruthless and hasty murder of one of the Filipino people’s efforts to seek accountability from the president, Charlotte Velasco, spokesperson of the League of Filipino Students, said.*CPG

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