Final Complaint in Intervention MOA

The following is the a copy + paste of the first few pages of the intervention filed by Manuel L. Quezon III, lead intervenor, and company.

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Constitution Hills, Quezon City

IN THE MATTER OF THE IMPEACHMENT OF GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES, JOSE DE VENECIA III, EDITHA BURGOS, ERLINDA CADAPAN, ROLEX T. SUPLICO, JOSEFINA T. LICHAUCO, H. HARRY L. ROQUE, JR., RENATO CONSTANTINO, JR., HENRI S. KAHN, FRANCISCO ALCUAZ, REZ CORTEZ, VIRGILIO EUSTAQUIO, JOSE LUIS ALCUAZ, LEAH LOPEZ NAVARRO, CONCEPCION EMPENO, ELMER LABOG, ARMANDO L. ALBARILLO, ROMEO S. CLAMOR, and BEBU BULCHAND, DANILO RAMOS, Complainants,

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MANUEL L. QUEZON III,
MARCK RONALD RIMORIN,
EDWIN LACIERDA,
JEREMY I. GATDULA,
ARBET W. BERNARDO,
MARIA A. JOSE,
RICHARD M. RIVERA,
PITCH MANGONDATO,
LT. GEN. FORTUNATO ABAT (RET),
JOSE T. ARCE JR,
ED BACUNGAN
Intervenors,
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COMPLAINT-IN-INTERVENTION

Intervenors, respectfully state:

1. The President of the Philippines, in fulfillment of the oath of office set forth in Article VII, Sec. 5 of the Constitution of the Philippines, is solemnly bound to: “faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God." The oath of office stipulates the parameters for presidential action for which every chief executive is accountable, not just to the state and its officials, but to every Filipino citizen.

2. The President of the Philippines, while elected for a fixed term, is always accountable to the public, in whom sovereignty resides. In order to provide an opportunity for exacting accountability, and providing relief to the citizenry if a chief executive proves irresponsible, criminal, or tyrannical, that the Constitution of the Philippines further provides, in Article XI, Sec.2 for the impeachment and trial of the President of the Philippines “for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust, ” and the consequent immediate dismissal from office of any chief executive proven guilty of any or all of these offenses.

3. The Constitution, in allocating the power of the House of Representatives to impeach the chief executive, and for the Senate of the Philippines to try the chief executive, all within the parameters of what the Constitution defines as the offenses and behavior that are of such gravity as to merit the indictment, trial, and potential removal of a President of the Philippines even before the expiration of their term of office, envisions a process that is fundamentally political and not criminal; that is, it does not deprive the President of the Philippines of inalienable rights to life, liberty, or property, but rather, limits the penalty to removal from office.

4. We assert that while the privilege of the House of Representatives, to investigate and approve or reject proposed articles of impeachment, is an absolute privilege, we also assert that the House of Representatives has a fundamental obligation to make any such investigations and determinations as thorough as possible; that it cannot ignore any information or pleadings that would serve to fortify a case against the President of the Philippines; for the determination of culpability, while a political process, is not merely a question of votes for or against any proposed articles, but rather, a process that must come out of a non-partisan effort to evaluate charges, hear the arguments of the proponents and opponents of any such charges, and determine whether they deserve to be articles of impeachment sent to the Senate for trial or not.

5. This basic principle separating an impeachment trial from those held in courts of law, means that the governing principles of impeachment are accountability, the sovereignty of the people, their right to petition government, including their legislature, for the redress of grievances, and the corresponding obligation of officialdom to take into consideration the sentiments and participation of the people, in the determination of a chief executive’s continuing fitness for office. The Constitution, after all, includes the public in the impeachment process, by allowing citizens to file impeachment complaints which legislators may endorse, and in determining the fitness of legislators, in turn, for fitness for office by taking into consideration the behavior of legislators in issues of public interest, such as impeachment.

6. For these reasons, the Intervenors, who are Philippine citizens, of legal age, and may be served with processes in this impeachment proceeding through counsel, assert their clear interest in the matter in question: namely, the impeachment of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has been charged with committing acts deserving of impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in Senate.

7. As citizens, we, the intervenors possess the constitutional right to petition their duly-elected representatives in the legislature for the redress of our grievances, and to expect the House of Representatives to fulfill its obligation to properly investigate, and deliberate, all allegations of high crimes and misdemeanors on the part of the President of the Philippines,
taking into consideration and account anything that may fortify the process of accountability. The charges leveled against the President of the Philippines, including the charges respondents earnestly submit for the consideration and inclusion of the House of Representatives, are not only an offense to the state, but also to every member of the body politic.

8. This Intervention is therefore meant to fortify the case for impeachment presented before the House of Representatives; it will not unduly delay the proceedings or prejudice the rights of the original parties in this case as the House of Representatives has yet to refer the original Impeachment Complaint filed on 13 October 2008 to the proper Committee. This intervention is fully in keeping with the parameters for accountability provided for in the Constitution, which our country’s basic law also requires all citizens, including our legislators, to investigate and deliberate upon with thoroughness and zeal.

9. The intervenors believe that the President ought to be impeached with regard to the matter of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (“MOA-AD”), which sought to create the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (“BJE”). We assert and submit for the consideration and
endorsement of the House of Representatives, that the agreement represented is a clear transgression by the President of the Philippines against the Constitution. It was a violation of her solemn obligation to faithfully and conscientiously undertake her duties as President of the
Philippines; it was a violation of her solemn duty to, at all times, not only preserve, but defend, the Constitution of the Philippines; it was a violation of her solemn duty to execute the laws of the nation, beginning with the Constituition; and by her recklessness, imprudence, and irresponsibility in pursuing the MOA-AD, she did a grave injustice to the citizenry; it was, in sum, a policy of such deceit and recklessness, as to demonstrate her consecration, not to the service of the nation, but to a policy calculated for personal political advantage, to the detriment of the nation at large.

10. One (1) day after the Impeachment Complaint was filed, or on 14 October 2008, the Supreme Court rendered a Decision in G.R. No. 183591, entitled “The Province of North Cotabato, etc. vs. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines Peace Panel on Ancestral Domain, etc., et al.,” and related cases thereto, declaring said MOA-AD unconstitutional.

11. We submit that that the House of Representatives, in considering the present Impeachment Complaint from within the ambit of the acts of omission and commission that constitute impeachable offenses and crimes, is compelled to take notice of what the Supreme Court itself has declared: that the MOA-AD was unconstitutional. While the Supreme Court has ruled on this, thus resolving the question of whether the document itself was in conformity with our basic law or not, we submit there remains the political question, beyond the ambit of the cases resolved by the high court, of determining whether the President of the Philippines, by implicitly and explicitly endorsing and engaging in the creation and approval of the MOAAD, violated her oath and engaged in behavior so reckless, imprudent, and irresponsible, as to render her unfit for office. As we have said, it is our belief that the President of the Philippines is culpable, accountable, and no longer fit for staying in office, because of her responsibility for the drafting
and approval by the Philippine Government of this document.

12. In view of this development subsequent to the filing of the impeachment complaint, intervenors seek redress for a great grievance by asking the House of Representatives to file this Complaint-in-Intervention, with the allegations made in the same, as follows:

13. The declaration of unconstitutionality by the Supreme Court in a 110-page En Banc decision which states in part:

In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion
when he failed to carry out the pertinent
consultation process, as mandated by EO No. 3,
RA 7160, and RA 8371. The furtive process by
which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted
runs contrary to and in excess of the legal
authority, and amounts to a whimsical, capricious,
oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof.
It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a
virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined.
* * *
The Court stressed that the MOA-AD cannot
be reconciled with the present Constitution and
laws. Not only its specific provisions but the very
concept underlying them, namely, the associative
relationship envisioned between the GRP and
the BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity), are
unconstitutional, for the concept presupposes
that the associated entity is a state and implies
that the same is on its way to independence, it
said.
The Court noted that inclusion of provisions
in the MOA-AD establishing an associative
relationship between the BJE and the Central
Government is, itself, a violation of the
Memorandum of Instructions from the President
dated March 1, 2001, addressed to the government
peace panel. Moreover, it virtually guarantees that
the necessary amendments to the Constitution and
the laws will eventually be put in place. Neither the
GRP Peace Panel nor the President herself is
authorized to make such a guarantee. Upholding
such an act would amount to authorizing a
usurpation of the constituent powers vested only
in Congress, a Constitutional Convention, or the
people themselves through the process of
initiative, for the only way that the Executive
can ensure the outcome of the amendment
process is through an undue influence or
interference with that process.
The Court added that while the MOA-AD
would not amount to an international agreement or
unilateral declaration binding on the Philippines
under international law, the respondents’ act of
guaranteeing amendments is, by itself, already a
constitutional violation that renders the MOA-AD
fatally defective.
(Emphasis and underscoringsupplied)

A copy of the Supreme Decision in G.R. No. 183591, entitled “The Province of North Cotabato, etc. vs. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines Peace Panel on Ancestral Domain, etc., et al.,” is attached as Annex A-Supplement.

Read the rest of it here (in pdf format). It's worth the read.

Listahan ng Utang

This morning, a blogger, a retired general, and their posse made a visit to Congress to deliver a letter they wrote themselves. At the ungodly hour of 8:00AM, these blokes with something to say and with fire in their hearts filed an intervention to add the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the charges in the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In effect, humahaba na ang listahan ng utang ni Gloriang Labandera.

Being a professional student, I decided to do my homework on said event. Naturally, I asked my friendly neighborhood manang tending the sari-sari store cum social hub of what happens to those with an ever growing list of debt. She gave a knowing look which said... THERE WILL BE RECKONING.

The time for "RECKONING" is coming. But before we pop the Moët et Chandon and unscrew the basi, let's give the guy with a famous grandfather a chance to describe the spanking new addition to the impeachment epic.

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PANAWAGAN

Unang-una sa lahat, ang mga naniniwala na ang impeachment ay isang “numbers game,” ay may mentalidad ng isang tuta na sunud-sunuran at hindi ginagamit ang pag-iisip bilang isang tao.

Ang Kongreso ay may dalawang bahagi - ang Kamara de Representates, at ng Senado.

Kapag ang isang Presidente ay may hinaharap na sakdal tungkol sa kanyang mga gawain bilang punong ehekutibo, ang Kamara ay ang tumatanggap ng mga akusasyon laban sa Pangulo, at gumagampan ng pag-aaral ng ebidensya upang makilatis kung ito ay masusustansya at kung ito ay dapat ipursigi at litisin sa Senado.

Bilang mga pangkaraniwang mamamayan, bilang mga blogger, beterano, sibilyan, Kristiyano, at Muslim, kami ay naniniwala na obligasyon namin na patibayin ng husto ang mga paratang laban sa Pangulo ng Pilipinas.

Sa aming pananaw ay dapat bigyan atensiyon ng Kamara ang isyu ng BJE-MOA sa pagitan ng Pangulo at ng MILF, ukol sa Mindanao. Ang usapang ito ay nabuo na may pahintulot ng Pangulo; ang sinasaad nito ay idineklara ng Korte Suprema na labag sa Saligang Batas. Kung hindi pumasok sa usapin ang Korte Suprema, marahil ay nagkapirmahan na sana sa Kuala Lumpur, sapagkat bukod sa inaprobahan ang kasunduang ito ng Pangulo, ay ipinahintulutan pa niya ang kanyang mga kinatawan na mangumbida ng mga representante ng iba’t ibang bansa sa Kuala Lumpur.

Tinutulan ang BJE-MOA na ito ng maraming residente ng Mindanao - lalong-lalo na ang mga Kristiyano at ang kanilang mga opisyales; ang iba naman, tulad ng ating mga Kapatid na Muslim, ay umasa na may kongkretong usapan sila ng Pangulo ngunit sila ay basta na lamang tinalikuran. Maaaring wala talaga siyang intensyon na ipatupad ang kanilang usapan, at sinadya niyang itago ang kasunduang ito sa mamamayan upang masabi niya na hindi naman nya ito maitutuloy sa dahilang hindi pa hinog ang panahon.

May panindigan o pananaw man o wala ang ordinaryong mamamayan sa usapang ito, ang naidulot lamang nito ay perwisyo at sakuna: sa buhay, ari-arian, kapayapaan at ekonomiya hindi lang ng Mindanao, kundi ng buong Pilipinas.

Ang ibig sabihin nito ay ginawang laruan ng Pangulong Arroyo ang buong Mindanao dahil lamang sa paghahanap ng malulusutan upang isulong ang pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas o ang Cha-Cha.

Ang ibig sabihin nito ay inilagay sa peligro ng Pangulong Arroyo ang lahat ng naninirahan sa Mindanao dahil lamang sa kanyang mga ambisyon.

Kung kaya’t dahil sa mga ikinilos at ginawa niya; sa paglabag niya sa Saligang Batas; sa pagtalikod nya sa kanyang sinumpaang obligasyon na protektahan at depensahan ang Saligang Batas; sa paglihim niya sa mamamayang Pilipino ng mga patungkol sa mga probisyon na nais niyang isulong sa kasunduan; sa malinaw na panloloko niya sa mga kapatid nating Muslim; sa maraming nasawi or nabawian ng buhay na sibilyan at militar; at dahil sa kaguluhang idinulot nya sa Mindanao; ay pinaninindigan namin na dapat maisama sa impeachment complaint ang usapin na ito.

Ayun kay Atty. Neri Colmenares, kailangan lang namin ma-isumite ang interbensyon na ito, upang maaksyunan ng Kamara. Hindi na daw kailangan i-endorse ito ng sinumang diputado o kinatawan. Kami ay naniniwala kay Atty. Colmenares at sa mga kinatawan ng oposisyon sa Kamara.

Ngunit nananawagan pa din kami na kung maaari, sa darating na Lunes, ika-17 ng Nobyembre, ay i-endorse pa rin ng mga kinatawan ng oposisyon ang aming inihahain na dokumento na siyang pinagaralan namin at nilagdaan bilang pagpapatunay na ito ay ang aming panindigan. Kung kaya’t umaasa kami na sana ito rin ang maging panindigan ng mga kongresista sa oposisyon at ng mga kinatawan na miyembro ng mayoriya, na tumutol sa kasunduang BJE-MOA.

Sa paraan na ito, ay mawawakasan na ang bangayan sa ating lipunan, mabibgyan ng pagkakataon ang Pangulo na sagutin ang mga paratang sa kanya, at makakasiguro ang Kongreso at ang taong-bayan na hindi nagtatago ang Pangulo sa likod ng kanyang mga patakbuhin.

Ang impeachment ay hindi nasasakluban ng executive privilege. Walang executive privilege ang impeachment. Kung tatalakayin ng tapat at ng walang kinikilingan ang mga paratang na nasasaloob sa impeachment complaint, kung pakikinggan ng wasto ang mga testigo, at kung pag-aaralang mabuti ang mga ebidensyang inihain ng mga complainant sa Kamara, ay makasisiguro tayo na magwawakas rin ang alitan ng administrasyon at oposisyon at ang pagkakahati ng ating mamamayan.

Nananawagan po kami sa sambayanang Pilipino na sana ay suportahan ang aming interbensyon.

Nais po naming magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga tumulong sa amin, sila Joey de Venecia, ang mga bloggers na lumagada, ang mga kapatid naming Muslim na siya ring lumagda, ang mga taga iba’t ibang hanay ng oposisyon na tumulong upang maging masustansya at matibay ang interbensyon na ito.

Pagkatapos naming isumite itong intervention na ito ay padadalhan namin ang bawat miyembro ng oposisyon ng kopya ng dokumento.

Kami ay nananampalataya na sa Lunes ay i-endorse na rin nila, kahit hindi kinakailangan, bilang pagpapatunay na buo ang loob at sentimyento nila na panagutin ang Pangulong Arroyo sa kanyang paglabag sa ating Saligang Batas at sa mga katiwalian niyang ginawa at patuloy na ginagawa.

Maraming Salamat po. Mabuhay po Kayo.
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Here's a concise version of the intervention filed at the House.
November ___, 2008

Hon. _________
Representative, ____ District, ________
House of Representatives
Quezon City

Dear Rep. ________:
Today, together with ... other intervenors, I have filed an intervention to
add the Memorandum of Agreement concerning the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical
Entity to the impeachment charges being considered by the House.

Our intervention is based on the following premises:

1. That the House of Representatives, in deliberating upon the charges
against the President of the Philippines, should strive to put together as
strongand comprehensive a case as possible, in order to properly and
thoroughly address all the issues that demand accountability from the chief
executive.

2. That the citizenry is obligated to do its part to help fortify the case
against the President of the Philippines.

We are of the opinion, and submit for your consideration and endorsement,
that:

1. The President of the Philippines must be held accountable for violating
her oath of office in authorizing and supporting an agreement that has been
proven to be contrary to the Constitution. Any President is duty-bound to
operate within the parameters established by the Constitution, and when a
President deliberately disregards our Constitution's provisions, there must
be an accounting made to the citizenry.

2. The President must therefore be held accountable for what the Supreme
Court has ruled to be an agreement that violated our Constitution.

3. That furthermore, the President must be held accountable for setting back
the peace process; and for placing ordinary citizens, Muslim and Christian
alike, in Mindanao, in peril because of the recklessness and faithlessness,
with which she conducted the negotiations for the agreement. She has done
grevious harm to the prosperity and tranquility of Mindanao and the entire
country and her doing so is a violation of public trust and her
Constitutional responsibilities. She betrayed the public, and all the
parties that participated in the peace process in good faith and with a
historic resolution of ancient grievances in mind.

We believe that we have made a strong case for including the BJE-MOA among
the charges against the President. We believe that this is a matter of such
seriousness as to require the House of Representatives providing the
President with an opportunity to explain herself to you, our
representatives, and through you, to an alarmed and outraged public. We
further believe that the President will find it impossible to satisfactorily
explain herself and that as a consequence, the House will find it necessary
to include our intervention among the impeachment charges.

May I respectfully invite you, then, to endorse our intervention, so that
ample opportunity may be provided for the President of the Philippines to
air her side, and for the public to be informed, through you, once and for
all, about the circumstances surrounding the agreement.

I am confident that you will respond to the overwhelming clamor of the
citizenry, throughout the country but particularly in Mindanao, for public
policy to be conducted in good faith, without recklessness and imprudence,
and with the true interests of the nation at heart and not just partisan
political convenience for the administration.

May I also invite you, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, Jarius Bondoc
and William Esposo of the Philippine Star, Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, and
Manuel Buencamino of The Business Mirror, to state, for the record, your
response to these two questions:

1. How do you intend to vote on the impeachment complaint already filed
before the House? Will you be present at the committee level and plenary
voting on these charges?

2. Are you in favor of including the BJE-MOA among the impeachment charges,
and why or why not.

We trust you will give your answer to us by Wednesday so we can publish
them. And we further trust that you will find our intervention meritorious
and worthy of your endorsement.

Respectfully yours,


Manuel L. Quezon III

The full copy will be available on the next entry.