BY ISMAEL AMIGO, 1st-APLUMA NATIONAL PRESIDENT

FROM THE looks of it, the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is headed to the Senate for trial.

President Aquino's alleged marching order to his Liberal Party allies to impeach Gutierrez has driven the final nail in Gutierrez' coffin, so to speak.

Malacanang strongly believes that Gutierrez is a big stumbling block in P-Noy's campaign against graft and corruption, mainly due to the Ombudsman's failure to prosecute personalities involved in corruption, especially former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The House committee on justice voted that the two impeachment cases filed against Gutierrez has probable cause and should be elevated to the Senate for a full-blown hearing.

Like the impeachment trial of former leader Joseph Estrada, senators will act as judges while congressmen will stand as prosecutors.

-000-

Now, congressmen who will act as prosecutors in the impeachment hearing should work doubly hard to build their case against Gutierrez for them to convince 2/3 of senators that Gutierrez should be removed from her post.

As of latest count, votes from 15 senators are needed to oust Gutierrez from her post.

The problem is, the Aquino administration only has eight solid supporters from the Upper Chamber, including Sens. Franklin Drilon, Kiko Pangilinan, TG Guingona, Tito Sotto, Chiz Escudero, Ralph Recto, Antonio Trillanes, and Panfilo Lacson, if ever he surfaces.

Former President Arroyo has four solid allies in the Senate, led by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, Joker Arroyo, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla.

Now, prosecutors will have to convince the remaining 11 senators that Gutierrez should be impeachment. A tough task indeed for them and a great scenario for Gutierrez.

-000-

This early, congressmen now face a daunting task of removing Gutierrez, especially if we listen to Sen. Santiago's stand on the issue.

Santiago said that lawmakers are just enumerating their grievances but there is no strong evidence that Gutierrez has betrayed the trust given to her by the appointing authority. 

The feisty senator said that anyone "cannot change the Ombudsman just because you don't like how she decided on a case. You have to show that she decided the cases not on its legal merits".

Emphasizing that she is not defending Gutierrez, Santiago advised the Lower House to ensure that their case is strong so as not to disappoint the public in the end.

For Santiago, if congressmen have no solid evidence against Gutierrez, then they should not pursue the impeachment case so as to save time and resources.

She has a point.