Impeachment is a legal process provided for in the 1987 Constitution (Article XI Section 2) as an insurance against abuse of power and committing of crimes by the high officials of the country.
"The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman may be removed from office, on impeachment for, an convictions of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officials may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment." (1987 Constitution Section 2, Article XI)
The impeachment process follows these steps:
Conviction for only one impeachable offense is sufficient to remove the President from office. In two years of holding office, there is evidence that President Estrada has committed various impeachable offenses primarily on the grounds of (a) betrayal of public trust, (b) graft and corruption, and (c) culpable violation of the Constitution. The major impeachable acts are as follows:
Intervention in investigation of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Dante Tan (Best World Gaming and Entertainment Corporation) for stock manipulation/insider trading.
Participation in family real estate business (JELP) during his incumbency and, later, transfer of his holdings to his wife, Luisa P. Ejercito.
Filing of false Statement of Assets and Liabilities (in violation of constitutional ban against direct or indirect participation in business and of conflict of interest).
Aside from these, numerous actions of the President can be considered impeachable although to a lesser degree.
The calls to oust, resign or impeach are not mutually exclusive. In fact, impeachment is being proposed as a concrete step which might be able to realize calls for the President to resign, or be removed/ousted from office. For example, the President might be forced to resign because of the move for impeachment.
However, impeachment, being a legal process, ensures a peaceful transition of power and can restore confidence in the government.
At the very least, the impeachment move would serve as a warning for the President to reform. It is a statement that that the Filipino people will not tolerate this practice no matter who is involved.
It has been a long two years since the President took office on July 1998 with one scandal occurring after another. During this time, not only has Mr. Estrada violated his own inaugural promise ("Walang kama-kamag-anak, walang kai-kaibigan."), he has committed impeachable offenses that has resulted in calls from various sectors for the President to "resign" or for people to "remove" or "oust" him from power.
The President has also brought the country under a state of undeclared war in Mindanao, which has divided the nation, drained the national treasury and dislocated more than half a million Filipinos. It has also further scared off investors.
The question which Filipinos must answer today is whether to allow the President to stay in power for another four years under this kind of administration. The President has already committed several impeachable offenses, yet he has showed no signs of or intention to change his style of governance despite calls for reform that began early in his first year of office.
The dissatisfaction has resulted in the expansion of the communist movement in the countryside and reports of military plots to oust him through another coup attempt.
2001 is an election year. Is there still time for an impeachment campaign to succeed?
It takes a maximum of 83 session days of Congress before an impeachment complaint is recommended for trial in the Senate. There will not be enough time to determine the validity of the impeachment complaint if Congress drags its feet on the issue. It is important to note that Congress can be coaxed into rushing its inquiry if there is enough public pressure about the issue.
More importantly, initiating impeachment at this time will make it figure as an issue in the coming elections. The 2001 elections will become a chance for the entire nation to render judgement on the impeachment of Mr. Estrada. The case should also make politicians act more on issues that matter to the people rather than by patronage politics. Hopefully, iimpeachment will make politicians more wary of siding with Mr. Estrada's campaign machinery.
An impeachment move by an ordinary citizen shall focus on the issues being raised because it is above partisanship. Unlike politicians, an ordinary citizen initiating impeachment has no political interest to lose or deal with.
At present, there is hesitation among opposition lawmakers to initiate impeachment proceedings because the ruling party coalition dominates the legislature. For fear of initiating a move with the possibility to fail, politicians fear eventual isolation and failure of their respective political careers. Many also fear the backlash from Malacaņang, which wields enormous power through its control of budgetary disbursements.
Of course, a citizen-led impeachment initiative has to be sponsored by at least one lawmaker. There is also the question of getting the required number of votes for a successful impeachment trial.
A citizen-led initiative has to be backed up by a broad nationwide support movement so that it will encourage more lawmakers to endorse the impeachment proceedings in the legislature.
According to the constitution, the Vice-President shall serve the unexpired term of the President in case of death, permanent disability, removal from office or resignation. In the event that the Vice President is also unable to serve, the Senate President-or, in case of his disability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives- shall act as President until another President is elected.
Does supporting the move for impeachment mean we support the current Vice-President?
Following the constitutional line of succession, it is true that a successful impeachment would install the present Vice-President, who is popular but does not enjoy support from a wide section of civil society.
However, supporting the move for impeachment is a choice between incompetent and corrupt governance for another four years, on one hand, and a chance for change on the other. It will also be a chance for the Filipino people to prove that their sovereign will governs the country.
Hence, in case the Vice-President also proves unfit to govern, the impeachment of the President has already proven that Filipinos are capable of removing even the successor from office. A successful impeachment of the President is, first and foremost, a warning to the incoming administration against committing the same errors and excesses.
It takes just one citizen to initiate impeachment proceedings, but it takes one united nation to make it successful. The impeachment initiative should be backed by a nationwide groundswell of support. Concretely, citizen's supporting the impeachment initiative can signify their support to their respective representatives. Efforts should be taken to show that support for impeachment is broad-based and not just coming from isolated individuals. At this point, impeachment seems an extremely difficult task but it is not impossible. Filipinos have already proven their power as a united people by ousting a dictator in 1986.
Concretely, support can be given by:
