Walking out was the right thing to do

THE DRAMATIC walkout in the House of Representatives on Tuesday by the opposition from the committee hearing on the impeachment cases against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the right thing to do, as it highlighted the majority's clear intention of railroading all attempts at impeachment.

Several columnists have lamented the "hotheadedness" of the mostly young opposition members who stormed out of the congressional hall, flinging papers into the air for added dramatic effect. Belinda Olivares-Cunanan was one of the old guard, pro-Arroyo columnists who said the walkout was quite unfortunate mostly for showing a lack of manners. But what were the young oppositionists supposed to do? Sit there and allow the much older and traditional politicians screw them in public and smile about it? Certainly not.

Cunanan highlighted an exchange between Rep. Robert Jaworski Jr. and Arroyo's faithful attack dog Rep. Simeon Datumanong, in which the Mindanao representative threatened Jaworski with bullets. Is this how a senior congressman should be behaving, especially one who is, as Cunanan so eagerly points out, a former governor, five-time congressman and two-time Cabinet member? Who is acting immaturely and irresponsibly here?

She objects to the younger opposition members yelling at the justice committee chairman during the proceedings, but since Datumanong refused to let them produce witnesses, notably former secretary of social welfare Dinky Soliman, what other choices did they have?

Which brings me to the statement of the Hyatt 10 of former Cabinet members on the same day at a forum organized by the Black and White Movement. Many critics have tried to pooh-pooh their statement, especially Soliman's recounting of an exchange between President Arroyo and presidential advisor Gabriel Claudio in which the President allegedly instructed her advisor to support the impeachment case filed by Attorney Oliver Lozano.

As it turns out, Lozano's impeachment case is the weakest of the three cases filed against Arroyo, and thus the easiest one to eventually dismiss for lack of evidence.

Cunanan, as usual ever so faithful to Arroyo, raps Soliman for revealing information that in usual circumstances would
remain confidential. But these are far from usual times, and Soliman along with the nine other former Cabinet members have a right to speak out against the President now that they have resigned. The Philippines, the last time I checked, is still a democracy with freedom of expression.

Missing the point entirely, Cunanan claims that what transpired in front of Soliman is privileged information that would never be allowed to be used in a court of law. How silly! I'm sure Soliman never intended what she recounted to be used in a court of law, but rather intended it to be used in the much more important and damaging court of public opinion.

It is clear that Malacañang operatives are working overtime to try and discredit everything the opposition does, from describing the walkout as "scripted" (is that supposed to detract from its importance?) to slamming Soliman for being disloyal (even though she has resigned and is speaking out for the good of the nation, and not just for the good of Arroyo).

Several readers have written to me saying that all Filipino politicians cheat in elections, and that therefore we should be willing to look the other way in Arroyo¹s cheating in the 2004 presidential election. But why should we look the other way? What sort of warped moral thinking are we asking everyone to adopt? As the Black and White Movement is trying to point out, in morality there is only right and wrong, with no room for the questionable gray areas.

Traditional politicians such as President Arroyo and Rep. Datumanong may smirk at the opposition for resorting to basic morality, but that is in essence what all of this is about. Sure, Arroyo's political allies are the majority in Congress and can throw out impeachment cases one by one, but that doesn't suddenly make the President innocent of the charges of electoral cheating and corruption.
The real question is whether Arroyo, already tainted by many allegations of corruption, will heed the good of the nation and relinquish power soon, or hang on for dear life and keep on buying off her supporters by handing out cushy government positions and money in exchange for political support? Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a long and messy fight.

Thank God for people like Cebu Rep. Clavel Martinez, who despite being a member of the ruling Lakas-CMD party, and the many phone calls from President Arroyo, has refused to remove her name from the impeachment complaint.

"The President wants to get what she wants and she doesn't care at all. It's me, me, me, me," Martinez said in an Inquirer interview.

"This is not the kind of government we would like to give as a legacy to our children, to the young people. So we are standing up and being counted," she added.

I couldn¹t have said it better.

Comments to rasheed@arabnews.com