President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III urged the public today to support the impeachment process against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, his strongest statement yet regarding the matter.
In a speech before the business leaders of Northern Mindanao, Aquino said “We are working to eliminate corruption in our institutions…We are trying to create an environment where this does not happen, where no one questions the legitimacy of such deals, and where nothing needs to be undone later on.”
He said this environment is where the right person can do his or her work to prosecute cases similar to the NBN-ZTE, Megapacific and NAIA-3 scandals.
The Ombudsman was impeached by the House of Representatives early Tuesday. She is accused of betrayal of public trust due to her low conviction rate and inaction on the NBN-ZTE scam, fertilizer fund scandal, "Euro generals" scandal, Mega-Pacific deal, and the Philip Pestaño case.
Malacanang is being lambasted for supposedly using its powers to pressure allies in the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the impeachment against Gutierrez.
The overwhelming 212 votes obtained on Tuesday morning were beyond expectations. Some expressed sentiments, however, that this will not translate to the same in the Senate.
In the same speech, the President reiterated his campaign pledge to establish a government of reform.
He claimed that he has delivered on his promise. “We are delivering on these promises, and this has redounded to significant improvements in many areas of concern, specially our economy,” Aquino said.
He cited, for example, a recent Citibank study that included the Philippines as one of 11 countries with the most promising growth prospects per capita.
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