A ‘yes vote' of Cong Erico Aumentado of the second district was nowhere to be found in the scorecard of 212 yes , 46 votes for no, and four abstentions as the House of Representatives voted to impeach Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez Monday. It turned out that the former governor was absent during Monday's crucial voting reportedly due to sickness. But in a text message sent by his spokesman Antonietto Pernia late yesterday, he said, the position of the second district legislator was already known two weeks ago even before the Congress balloting. He made the yes stand in his radio program Erico Development. A perusal of an ABS-CBN website where a rundown of how the congressmen voted showed the Bohol lawmaker was listed in the absent column.

In justifying his yes vote, Rep. Aumentado said the impeachment issue has so divided the House causing the delay in the discussion of other important matters. Aumentado said he voted for yes because he believed that in fairness to the Filipino people and to Ombudsman Gutierrez, impeachment is the only way “we can all hear the arguments for or against Gutierrez”. Meaning justice has to be served fast to either parties- the Filipino people and Gutierrez., the solon added. He added that the “impeachment will give all of us the opportunity to listen to both sides and therefore come up with accurate information on the issues raised against Gutierrez because the hearing will be covered by the media”. But Aumentado's yes vote may not have the same impact as the vote in the affirmative of Cong. Rene Relampagos of the first district.

Heard from all corners of the Batasan session hall when the voting was made, the neophyte solon , w earing a formal coat and tie, voted to impeach Gutierrez last Monday. When asked by his colleagues in the House of Representatives why he was wearing a coat and tie, Relampagos said that he wanted to be dressed for the occasion since he considered the deliberations to be a historic event. He added that every vote would greatly matter insofar as to whether or not President Noynoy Aquino would succeed in his anti-corruption agenda, which had catapulted him to the presidency. “We have to support the President's call for the impeachment of Gutierrez. This is what the Filipino people want. The government and the people cannot move forward in our fight against graft and corruption if we do not do this,” Relampagos urged. Of the three Bohol solons, only the First District congressman voted in favor of impeaching the ombudsman. He is among the 212 who voted “Yes” to impeach Gutierrez during the impeachment deliberations. Forty-six solons voted “No” and four others abstained.

Pressed to comment on the votes of his Boholano colleagues in Congress, Relampagos said, “We have to respect, too, their views and opinions on the matter.” Representative Arthur Yap of the third congressional district cast a “No” vote Monday, while Second District Congressman Erico Aumentado, on the other hand, was absent from the proceeding. It was Relampagos's second time to wear a formal coat and tie in Congress, the first being when the House of Representatives approved the national budget for 2011. The lone dissenting vote to impeach the Ombudsman came from Cong. Yap. Although he made no new pronouncements aside from his previous statement aired during a radio interview, Yap when asked if he had anything more to say regarding his “no vote” chose to clamp up saying “no comment, this time”. Earlier, the newbie lawmaker said he voted no because he wanted to listen to the side of Gutierrez as an accused and defend herself at the committee level before voting on whether to impeach her or not.