It's going to be uglier for the lawmakers, uglier for the economy and most of all, uglier for the Filipino, especially the poor majority who will be the ultimate losers in the end with this second impeachment.  Worse, we also have the unfortunate spectacle of a bishop joining the fray by filing his own impeachment complaint, bucking questions about the separation of the Church and the State by claiming it is a personal act.  Some are saying that the bishop should have shed off his religious garb if that were the case.  Clearly, this act by the good bishop will only spell more confusion and divisiveness particularly, among his flock.

What is really pathetic is that opposition groups have promised to file the same impeachment complaint every day—because they are uncertain when the one-year ban would lapse.  They are simply afraid that they will be outsmarted by the administration or that lawyer Oliver Lozano will beat them to the punch.

The opposition is resorting to a legal option, and nobody can argue with that.  What is clear, however, is that if they do not have the numbers, then why go through it at all?  There are some who have pointed out that the opposition have a pending petition before the Supreme Court questioning the outcome of last year's impeachment vote, so a new complaint can't be filed.

There is also the opinion that they should have studied whether to wait for the SC ruling first before filing the second impeachment bid, or otherwise, they could withdraw the earlier petition to make way for a new impeachment attempt. 

Last year, the opposition tried—but exceedingly failed—to muster the necessary 79 signatures or one third of 235 Congressmen to elevate the complaint to the Senate for trial.  They could only get 51 signatures, and some of their allies even conveniently disappeared when crunch time came.  There were even suspicions that several Congressmen from both sides used the impeachment to get a windfall, referred to by many as "Christmas in July."

This time, they only need 78 signatures, because two Congressmen have become Cabinet officials, Budget Secretary Rolly Andaya Jr. and DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno.  Even with this lower number, the opposition is still hard pressed to get the required number.  There are 29 names listed as complainants, but our mole tells us that only 26 so far have agreed to sign the complaint.

It is being widely suspected that the opposition is resorting to gimmickry to hide the fact that they are more fragmented than ever.  The bottom line is, they still don't have the necessary number of signatures from Congress.  These futile attempts will just make the country go around in circles, not going anywhere.  It's like having a storm that just stays in one place, not moving at all, but wreaking havoc in the meantime.  So why go through the whole process and subject the country to another period of uncertainty for the second time around?

Already there are signs that the renewed attempt might take its toll on the economy again with the weakening of the peso, reaching its lowest this year at 53.57 to the dollar a few days ago.  Perhaps members of the opposition should go beyond their egos and focus on the more important things right now—which is to get the economy going and help government—of which they are part of, being Congressmen—address the problems of poverty, over-population, unemployment.

We have to bring back the confidence of investors into this country, not scare them off with periodic political disturbances through impeachment bids.  As a matter of fact, an SWS survey revealed that Filipinos just want to put all these political issues aside.  They want to see some real work being done by legislators to solve this country's problems and move it forward.

The price of gasoline keeps going up, and basic commodities are getting more expensive and are already beyond the reach of many people.  Fifteen years ago, galunggong was a staple, but now it's a luxury.  These are the issues we have to urgently address.

Filipinos are getting frustrated, that's why more and more people are leaving this country to work abroad.  In fact, US Consul General Rick Haynes told us the other night that the US Embassy in Manila's immigrant visa section has become the biggest in the world in terms of the number of applicants trooping to the Embassy, surpassing even Mexico, which used to have the largest number of applicants.

When the Republicans impeached Bill Clinton in 1998, they threw everything they had into the process, including the kitchen sink.  The attempt failed, because the Senate vote fell short of the two-thirds majority requirement to convict the US president and remove him from office.  Once the Republicans lost, they accepted it and consequently, stopped the attacks on Clinton and went back to work.

But this town is altogether different.  It has become a town of vicious, divisive, envious and worst of all, vindictive people.  I know for a fact that a number of these so-called civil society members are going against GMA for personal vindictiveness.  One was not appointed ambassador, so this person is so bitterly against GMA.  The other has a husband who was not appointed to a government-sequestered corporation.  It is simply so disgusting to see these people have the temerity to appear so self-righteous and holier-than-thou, knowing fully well their reasons are purely personal.

If these people sincerely believe that GMA has lost her mandate and no longer enjoys the trust and confidence of the people, then they should train their guns on the coming 2007 elections.  The only civilized way that this so-called civil society should do is through the elections, where they could prove their point by trouncing the administration candidates in the polls.

Unfortunately, this impeachment is not at all "lovelier the second time around" just like the old familiar romantic tune sang by Frank Sinatra.  This impeachment can only be uglier the second time around with more frustrations, more hatred, more viciousness and more vindictiveness coming out of it—in the end, making all of us feel uglier and angrier.

One good news that's nice to hear is what Manny Pangilinan told me the other day about PLDT-Smart Group advancing some of its tax payments to help government meet its revenue requirements.  This is positive news.  There's a lot to be said about Manny's group, and this noteworthy act shows their commitment to help this country in spite of all the negatives.

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