Verdict a choice between Estrada, Arroyo

At the end of the day, it will just be a choice between President Estrada and his constitutional successor, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Former Ambassador to Washington Ernesto Maceda predicted yesterday that the senators sitting as judges in the trial will decide the case not on the merits of the evidence and testimonies presented but on the person they prefer to be president – Mr. Estrada or Arroyo.

Maceda, acting as presidential spokesman for the impeachment trial, said that the senators will rule based on what they personally believe is good for the country.

"So in the end, the question will be: Will this be for the good of the country if President Estrada will be replaced?" Maceda said.

Maceda, himself a former senator, said that there might be three options for the senator-judges: Acquit Mr. Estrada to enable him to complete his full six-year term; impeach Mr. Estrada and replace him with Arroyo, or oust them both and install a third person in the presidency.

Maceda said it is likely that the 22 senators will decide the impeachment case based on their individual political belief of what is good for the country.

"I have been a senator for three terms... really the ultimate question is whether my vote (on any issue) will be for the good of the country or not," he said.

Former Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles shared Maceda views that it would be difficult to tell at this point how the senators would decide.
"It is really hard to read the senator-judges even for somebody like me who has been in and out of the Senate room where the impeachment proceedings are being held. I still could not read them," Nograles said.

The Mindanao lawmaker, who is helping the prosecution team from the House of Representatives, pointed out that the impeachment trial is not only a judicial process, but also a political matter.

"We are not only talking here of their political affiliations, but also of their own personal political predicament on individual basis," he said.

He said the defense panel will resort to technical maneuverings to discredit the prosecution witnesses. – With Edith Regalado