'I'm not for sale,' says Negros solon
BACOLOD CITY -- "I have principle and dignity and it is unfair to tag me as 'for sale' congressman." This, Negros Occidental 4th istrict Representative Jeffrey Ferrer said in reaction to the revelation of Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. that they were given P500,000 on Oct. 11, 2007, to support a "sham" impeachment complaint to protect the President from a stronger suit.
The neophyte solon supports the move of House Ethics Committee to do the investigation and possible expulsion of the former house speaker because of unfounded disclosures against his fellow solons that even the opposition lawmakers got hurt.
"I am not that cheap public official selling my stand for just P500,000 to favor a certain person. I even spend my own money for my constituents more than that!" Ferrer argued.
JDV should not generalize everybody, not all congressmen are 'for sale', he added.
"If my colleagues have seen that evidences are strong against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, there is no way not to support it but how can you support a complaint only backed with 'newspaper clippings'?", Ferrer stressed.
The House Justice Committee junked on Wednesday the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Mrs. Arroyo.
Voting 42-8, the panel chaired by Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor dismissed the complaint after members of the minority bloc failed to prove that they have met the legal requirement for substance.
Impeachment charges have been filed against President Arroyo since 2005. The 97-page ouster complaint of businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, son of former House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., and civil society groups led by the Black and White Movement was just the fourth of these complaints.
"For me, an impeachment complaint against the President is not a matter of alliance but an issue whether it is true, founded with facts and evidences," Ferrer added.