E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
Outmaneuvered!
Sunday, 08 20, 2006
My sentiments are with the Opposition; make no mistake about that, even though I have been writing against the filing of the impeachment complaint, as it would be an exercise in futility, which it is now turning out to be. Nandiyan na. Eh, di suportahan na rin!
As I tap out this column on my laptop in Geneva, observing developments from afar, my fingers fall heavy on the keys, out of frustration over the inability of the Opposition to surmount the overwhelming numbers of the anti-impeachment bloc, and its ineptitude in the handling of the entire process. I am disappointed, exasperated and weary at seeing the Opposition’s aims being thwarted not so much by an overwhelming partisan vote for the respondent but by a breakdown in discipline and leadership on the side of the pro-impeachment camp.
Not that the group of Louie Villafuerte, et al. dished out the better arguments in points of law, rules and facts. In fact, Allan Peter Cayetano, Rolex Suplico and Ruy Lopez have been giving the more sensible arguments by anyone from either side. It is just that Villafuerte and his group of seasoned politicians have outmaneuvered Chiz Escudero, et al. from the very beginning.
Villafuerte has become the anchor of the demolition team, his face and voice now a permanent fixture in tri-media. Borrowing from my friend Lito Banayo, Escudero has been reduced to the status of a punching bag of the pugilist Villafuerte.
Did Escudero think wrongly that eight complaints serially filed would confound GMA’s allies in the House? Getting media mileage that accompanies the succession of filing of the complaints, is one tactic. It is another to plan it well and deliver the blow as in a masterstroke. Where is the substance? Where are the specifics?
Serializing the filing, as it turned out, left many of the charges abandoned, in the event one or more of the complaints are thrown out. Villafuerte neutralized the initial gains of the Opposition, by leading the dismissal of seven of the complaints, leaving only one to be considered by the justice committee of Simeon Datumanong. Predictably, the Soliman complaint, the only surviving complaint, which obviously suffers a lot in terms of substance and specifics as to the charges on its face (the ultimate facts, really), was subsequently rejected.
How Escudero was not able to anticipate the move leaves (me and many others in the Opposition) perplexed. Is it time to believe what Imee Marcos uttered in disgust over another mishandled issue in the recent past?
To coin a euphemism, I say Escudero’s elevator doesn’t quite go up to the top floor. His floor plan, to continue the metaphor, has not provided for corridors and stairways that provide access to the private sanctums of that House of many rooms. Escudero, it seems — and here, I am hopelessly mixing my metaphors — neglected to arm himself with an effective roadmap to steer the impeachment attempt to its desirable conclusion. And I am not even talking of having it forwarded to the Senate, the lack of numbers, 79, notwithstanding.
It appears that the pro-impeachment congressmen were merely content in filing the complaints and already resigned, from that point on, that not one will ever be elevated to the Senate for lack of the necessary votes. They failed to exploit the issues raised in the complaints, while Villafuerte went on the offensive from the time the first complaint was filed on June 27, demolishing the issues in the process.
The charges against GMA are numerous, but there was no concerted action to exploit them to generate public sentiments in support of the complaints. After the filing, nothing much was heard of the complaints, until they were thrown out. The parading of the balikbayan boxes containing alleged evidence to support the complaints came much too little, too late.
When Ompong Plaza inhibited himself from the proceedings of the justice committee, all those in the Opposition mentioned in the Commission on Audit report as having benefited from the fertilizer funds should have taken it as a signal to inhibit themselves en masse. That would have put the Opposition on the moral high ground — never mind if no one of them was left in the committee. That would have been very embarrassing to the rest of those left behind in the committee. But Plaza was the lone ranger, all by his lonesome self, and the way the Opposition subsequently made disparate and uncoordinated arguments in the wake of Plaza’s inhibition was disgusting. I had always thought Escudero should have cracked the whip and ordered all those in the Opposition to inhibit themselves. But he did not.
Besides, the bland monotone and pa-cute statements make Escudero hardly convincing when debating with Villafuerte. Escudero had better argue the way Villafuerte does. Villafuerte is the rabble rouser with much of the legal arguments on his side, and earning points that way. The public is lapping up the arguments of Villafuerte, whose allegory regarding his grandchild understandably tugs at the public heartstrings. Escudero is too laid back, and is surprisingly holding back his arguments. I wonder why, knowing him to be a debater in law school.
The Opposition has to find a better way to get into the chinks of GMA’s armor. Enough of the impeachment route, if it cannot be handled well, or if the overwhelming numbers of GMA’s House guards would only underscore the lack of an effective leader and agenda for the pro-impeachment camp. Or, if there is to be any impeachment attempt at all next year (again!) let it be handled by the pros who can face off against Villafuerte, et al..
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