by Efren Duran
The House of Representatives, after voting 212 “Yes”, 46 “No”, and 4 absentions, made a history by impeaching Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez for betrayal of public trust on March 22, 2011.
This is the first time in the history of the Philippines that an Ombudsman has been impeached by the Lower House.
Who is Merceditas Gutierrez?
Ma. Merceditas Gutierres graduated from the Ateneo Manila University Law School in 1972. She started working in the government beginning in 1983 until present. Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed her as Ombudsman in 2005 becoming the first woman Ombudsman of the Philippines.
The Ombudsman is a powerful office tasked to investigate erring government officials. But as some congressmen contends, she has been “sleeping” on some of the most controversial issues which concerns the President Gloria Arroyo and First Genteleman Mike Arroyo.
Some speculates that the Ombudsman is protecting the former president and her family due to close connection ties and because, as some suggests, Mike Arroyo and Merceditas Gutierrez have been former schoolmate during their law student years.
Betrayal of public trust
Ombudsman Gutierrez has made many “first” in the Philippine history. Aside from being the first women Ombudsman, first Ombudsman impeached by the Congress, she also holds the record for the most number of impeachment cases for an Ombudsman.
I could recall what my financial adviser friend always tell me, “You are famous if you are controversial!” Does this mean that Ombudsman Gutierrez is famous? I bet she is!
Betrayal of public trust is the summary of the six cases filed against Merceditas Gutierrez. Although at least only one case needs to be won in order for Gutierrez to be impeach.
She may have or may have not betrayed the Filipino’s trust. Her defense is that she has upheld her office’s mandate, that the Lower House was not fair in giving out their decision.
Now, she is banking on the senators’ fairness. That is, despite the fact that in Congress majority are Liberal party or allies of PNoy while there are a majority in the Senate that may seem to be allied to the former president.
Impeachment trial
We now lay our trust to the impeachment court. And we fervently hope that our trust will not be betrayed, yet again. I am not insinuating that the Ombudsman is culpable of betraying public trust. Let us leave this to the impeachment court, to our honorable senators, to deal with but surely we should not remain blind and deaf. Not anymore!
The Filipino people deserve to have an Ombudsman who serves the people and not serve a few. The people are clamoring for change. PNoy stressed that impeaching Ombudsman Gutierrez will send the strongest signal that his administration is serious in its fight against corruption.
We just hope that the likes of Ligot and his wife, Carlos Garcia, Joc-joc Bolante among others will be prosecuted properly and that all the wealth that they may have amassed illegally be returned to the Filipino people.
As Pacman (who by the way voted for “no” in his twitter account) says, “let us see the scattered!” (translated in english…of course!).
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