Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte moved a step closer to being ousted from office yesterday when the House of Representatives approved an impeachment trial to address the corruption charges against him.
In a rowdy session punctuated by chants urging the president to resign and the singing of a popular nationalist song, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano immediately endorsed the sending of impeachment charges to the Senate shortly after leading the 302-member legislature in a prayer.
Although no vote was needed because more than the required one-third of the House legislators had signed the impeachment document, Cayetano acted swiftly before pro-Duterte legislators could remove him as speaker -- something that happened later in the day.
"We did something that has never happened in this country before," Cayetano said during a break in the tumultuous session.
The move set the stage for an unprecedented trial before the country's 24-member Senate, where Duterte will face charges that include press freedom.
Duterte has denied the accusations, made against him last June. He has promised to defend himself in the trial.
The debacle is being closely watched by many in the Bay Area, which is home to more than a quarter million Filipinos and foreigners.
Past Philippine presidents have faced impeachment charges, but no one has ever stood trial while in office. Until July 24, the Senate had no impeachment rules because it has never had to hold a trial. But Senate President Vicente Sotto III ordered a rapid drafting of rules patterned after those used by the U.S. Senate during President Trump's impeachment trial.
"All of us are learning to live with democracy the same way the Americans are learning about their electoral process now more than ever," said Congressman Butz Aquino, referring to the controversy surrounding the U.S. presidential election.
QUICK ACTION
Duterte's foes in the legislature had to use parliamentary maneuvers to send the impeachment to the Senate.
Cayetano, had just finished leading the session in prayer when he suddenly endorsed the impeachment charges without so much as taking a roll call.
A pro-Duterte legislator tried to question the move but was ignored by Cayetano, who then banged his gavel to send the session into temporary recess.
Hundreds of predominantly anti-Duterte spectators erupted in cheers and sang "My Country," the popular Tagalog tune that became the anthem of the mid-1980s movement that forced the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile.
IMPEACHMENT RIBBONS
Many of the spectators and Duterte opponents in the House wore peach-colored ribbons, a symbol of the impeachment campaign.
Congressman Rodolfo Tuazon, an Duterte supporter, angrily blasted Cayetano's tactic and the partisan crowd.
"He was so carried away that he was willing to violate rules of the House just to give himself media exposure," he said, referring to Cayetano's widely known plan to run for the presidency in 2022. "He has turned this session into a rally. This is not a rally!"
"They would have questioned any way we did it," Cayetano countered. "What makes them mad is that I did it the fast way. I caught them by surprise."
Even some pro-impeachment spectators were surprised. "We did not expect it to go as fast as this," said Father Robert Reyes, a popular activist Catholic priest. "I think conscientious legislators helped the process."
"A very major hurdle has passed," added Ging Deles, a community activist who unlike Duterte, advocates making peace with the country's rebel movements.
POWER OF THE PEOPLE
When the crisis touched off, many Filipinos expected the impeachment campaign to fail because Duterte appeared to have firm control of the Congress, Deles noted. But street demonstrations and persistent lobbying by civic groups have helped sway many legislators.
"For us, impeachment goes hand in hand with street action," Deles said.
The one-two punch she referred to was demonstrated today when a broad coalition of moderate and left-wing labor groups held a nationwide strike and street protests. In an unusual move that shows the growing discontent among the middle class, the major Philippine business organizations endorsed the strike.
While the impeachment trial is expected to begin in the next few days, it is not clear whether the anti-Duterte forces can muster two-thirds of the 24-member Senate to remove him from office.
"I'm not optimistic, but I think there's a chance," Duterte said. "You never know how the senators will decide on this matter."
SWIFT REPRISALS
Hours before the House forwarded the impeachment charges, Sotto, was voted out as Senate president and replaced by Ralph Recto.
After making his dramatic move, Cayetano was later ousted as House Speaker and replaced by Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco.
Duterte still has wide popularity. A poll late last week showed that many Filipinos do not want him to be removed.
Yesterday that plans to reveal more damaging information that could seal Duterte's downfall.
Singson had accused Duterte of receiving millions in payoffs from an illegal but widely tolerated gambling operation called jueteng. He admitted his own role in the operation, but said Duterte was the "lord of all gambling lords."
"I'm willing to go to jail so long as the man who committed the bigger crimes will come with me," Singson told reporters at the Manila Yacht Club. "He will surely be an ex-president soon. Just wait."
Activist Deles was also optimistic, dismissing any notion that Duterte would survive.
"We will oust him, otherwise as a nation we die," she said. "He'll go as Marcos went."
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THE CHARGES AGAINST DUTERTE
-- Bribery: The Philippine president is accused of breaking a campaign promise to outlaw short-term employment contracts, warning the move risked alienating his diehard supporters.
-- Graft and corruption: Duterte is accused of receiving $2.6 million from tobacco taxes and under-declaring his personal net worth.
-- Betrayal of public trust: Duterte is accused of intervening in the investigation of a friend by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
-- Violation of the constitution: Duterte is accused of participating in a family-controlled real-estate business despite a prohibition on outside business interests while in office.
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