SILENT MAJORITY TOLD TO BREAK THEIR SILENCE
OVER IMPEACHMENT VS. GMA

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today called on the people to get actively involved in the efforts of well-meaning citizens and political leaders to remove President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by impeachment, instead of being just fence-sitters in a campaign that will help shape their personal future and the political destiny of the country.

The silent majority must break their silence and back up the moves to impeach the President. If the people simply keep quiet about the misdeeds of the President, it would be much more difficult to remove her by impeachment, he said.

Pimentel warned that sinister attempts to block the impeachment process, as mandated by the Constitution, will only have dreadful consequences in terms of forcing disgruntled members of society to take extra-legal or violent means in their desperation to see the desired change or reforms in the national leadership.

Lest I be misunderstood, I want Gloria removed from office, the sooner, the better. But I want it done constitutionally, not violently, he said.

If impeachment can remove her, so be it. But as I have time and again pointed out, the impeachment process only gives the President another chance to buy the votes of the buyable members of the House of Representatives as shown in the last impeachment try against her.

The minority leader said that perhaps, the new impeachment move will succeed if the people would speak up and support it publicly.

The people need not demonstrate if even that causes them paralysis. The next best thing is for them to swamp the editorial offices of the mass media with their support for impeachment, Pimentel said.

They can also start boycotting the establishments that support the administration and perhaps consider slowing down in the payment of their taxes as an expression of their disgust with the corruption and abuses of the administration.

According to Pimentel, the other more radical steps in pursuing the impeachment case would include non-payment of taxes as an expression of outrage although that would probably come as the penultimate option.

He said the other alternative is to move against Mrs. Arroyo to make her resign so that new elections could be held.