RESIGNATION, NOT IMPEACHMENT, OF GMA STILL THE BEST OPTION

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said he would rather see the political opposition and other groups stepping up the pressure for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as he is not optimistic that a second attempt to impeach her will succeed.

Pimentel, however, said he will not dissuade the minority bloc in the House of Representatives from its plan to initiate anew impeachment proceedings against the President.

He foresaw that the President will again make full use of the powers and resources at her disposal to kill the impeachment complaint just like what she did last year to a similar ouster move against her.

It will be another round of buying some people who can be bought and I am not too sure that it will result in an honest-to-goodness investigation of the charges that are filed as in the form of an impeachment complaint, and that subsequently the matter can be referred to the Senate, the minority leader said.

In making his stand, Pimentel cited the latest Pulse Asia survey (Feb. 18 to March 4) showing that 65 percent of Filipinos want the President to resign in the belief that it is the best option to solve the prolonged political crisis. The same survey showed that the Presidents net trust rating has dropped to negative 30 percent and her approval rating remained critical at negative 24 percent.

He said the attempt to impeach the President will not prosper for as long as there are lawmakers who pretend to be deaf and blind to the genuine sentiments of the people and who are willing to be manipulated by the powers-that-be in exchange for certain favors or concessions

I am not saying that impeachment should never be a means to remove an erring President. But considering our experience, we have already seen how the President maneuvered the proceedings in the House of Representatives to the extent that nothing came out of the impeachment attempt in the House, the senator from Mindanao said.

Pimentel also maintained that a coup, a ruling junta or any other extra-legal and unconstitutional methods of unseating an incumbent president will bring more problems for the nation.

He said that the dismal failing marks the President has been consistently getting in the surveys should jolt her into realizing that she does not enjoy credibility and therefore resign as the only logical course or action.