MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang Sunday challenged Ombudsman Merceditas “Merci” Gutierrez to prove her independence in handling cases that may be filed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, even as lawmakers warned it would be difficult to impeach Gutierrez because Arroyo would block such a move.

President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said the proposed truth commission to be headed by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. would ensure that cases that may be filed against Arroyo and her allies were backed by solid evidence that could not be simply ignored by the Ombudsman.

Gutierrez, an appointee of Arroyo and schoolmate of former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo in law school, earlier complained about statements by the Aquino administration expressing suspicion about her ties with the previous regime.

Lacierda said Gutierrez should have been “more independent before, during the time of President Arroyo.”

“But now, she should prove her independence and resolve to prosecute corrupt officials even during the time of President Arroyo,” he said in the weekly Palace forum aired over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

Sense of decency

Saying that Gutierrez “has her own sense of decency,” Lacierda added: “We expect her to exercise prudence and delicadeza (propriety) on the matter when she decides on the cases that will be filed before the Ombudsman, especially those involving officials during the Arroyo administration.”

Last week, the Palace said it was looking for ways to remove Gutierrez from office, with impeachment as an option.

“Since Ombudsman Gutierrez is close to the Arroyos, we will not get justice from her. That’s the reason we need the truth commission to be formed—so that a tight case will be gathered and filed before the Office of the Ombudsman,” Lacierda has said.

“We recognize the Ombudsman as a constitutional body, but we have doubts about the occupant of the office because of her close ties with the [former] First Gentleman.”

Long road

Efforts to jump-start the investigation into the P728-million fertilizer fund scam got a boost with the return to the country of former Agriculture Secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo.

Malacañang said Lorenzo could be tapped as a state witness depending on the information he would divulge and his degree of supposed participation in the scam.

“Under the past administration, it was hard to gather evidence because [witnesses] were afraid to come out. Under the new administration, we are hoping that documents will surface, and more people will testify,” Lacierda has said.

But the road to ousting Gutierrez from her office will be long and arduous even under a reform-minded Aquino administration, lawmakers said.

Expert on impeachment

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares admitted that getting the one-third vote—96 of the 287-strong House of Representatives—needed to impeach Gutierrez has become even more challenging with Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, expected to take the lead in ensuring that Gutierrez serves out her fixed term up to 2012.

“She will do something to make it difficult, she will not just sit down,” Colmenares said in a phone interview.

He noted that Arroyo herself had succeeded in eluding impeachment for four straight years, making her an expert on the issue.

Old complaint

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. agreed that while it would be in the interest of Arroyo to protect Gutierrez, the impeachment complainants should make sure they have a stronger case than what the group of former Senate President Jovito Salonga filed in November last year.

“I reviewed their complaint and it was mostly focused on the Ombudsman’s inactions or her failure to file corruption cases [against those] perceived to have been committed by persons close to the [former] President. If they will just refile this, I don’t think it will prosper,” Barzaga said.

But since impeachment was a “numbers game,” Barzaga said it was up to the ruling Liberal Party (LP) to prove it could muster the one-third vote needed to elevate the case for trial in the Senate.

He pointed out that Arroyo still had many allies in Congress and that even those who had switched to the LP would be reluctant to “rock the boat” and would rather stay neutral.

Wait until November

Colmenares said that any impeachment complaint would have to wait until November this year because only one complaint could be filed against an individual within a one-year period.

Colmenares said the complainants would also have to contend with the argument of Gutierrez’s defenders that the complainants should use new cases to impeach her because rehashing the old complaint could be deemed res judicata, or something that has already been judged.

“We will question this view made by leaders in the previous Congress that the cases could not be refiled. But this could take a while since we need the Supreme Court to rule on this,” Colmenares said. By Christian V. Esguerra, Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. Philippine Daily Inquirer