#TalkThursday: “Impeachment Then and Now”

What?

On Thursday, March 15, Rappler holds the second episode of #TalkThursday where some of the most brilliant minds in various fields gather to talk about issues that matter. You can watch the live broadcast of #TalkThursday on the front page of Rappler.com and join the discussion via our social media platforms on Twitter and Facebook. 

Who’s coming?

Sen Manuel “Manny” Villar joins Rappler on #TalkThursday for a rare interview with Maria Ressa, Rappler CEO and executive editor. This comes after Villar’s failed presidential bid in 2010. He is expected to share his thoughts about the two impeachment processes he has been a part of and his plans for the future, after he completes his term in the Senate in 2013. Villar is also president of the Nacionalista Party.

As Speaker of the House in November 2000, Villar was instrumental in the impeachment of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada. The former Senate president is now sitting as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Two different impeachment processes

On Monday, March 12, he stood up on the Senate floor, reacting to Sen Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada who made references to his father’s own impeachment. Villar said, “When you sign an impeachment against a sitting president, you are prepared to lose everything,” declaring that the two impeachment proceedings he has been a part of are worlds apart.

“There is a big difference, Mr. President. It is 100 times different,” Villar said.

He also refuted charges that he railroaded the impeachment of Estrada in 2000. “Isang buwan po iyon, not two days. Isang buwan po iyon, halos. Nagkaroon po ng hearing sa Senado, apat na hearings…Sa Senado muna, then after that, iyong ‘I Accuse’ ni Sen [Teofisto] Guingona.”(It took a month, not two days. Almost a month. Four hearings were held in the Senate. In the Senate first, then came the ‘I Accuse’ speech of Sen Guingona.)

The impeachment case was filed in the House after which hearings were held at the committee level.

“Just to set the record straight, dalawang hearings po iyan sa Committee on Justice bago po iyan nakakuha ng pirma na one-third,” Villar said. (There were two hearings at the Committee on Justice before we were able to get signatures of one-third of the House.)

Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa anchors the weekly online event which will start tonight. A simultaneous discussion will take place via our social media platform. To take part, follow @rapplerdotcom on Twitter and use the hashtag #TalkThursday. The livestream of the event starts at 7:30 pm. See you online. – Rappler.com