PPS defends collective resignation against Feliciano.

247 – With Congressman Marco Feliciano (PSC-SP) resisting remaining in his position as president of the Human Rights and Minorities Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Congressman Arnaldo Jordy (PPS-PA) announced this Thursday, the 28th, that he intends to file a complaint with the House Ethics Council next Tuesday against the evangelical pastor. The congressman will allege that Feliciano "breached parliamentary decorum by improperly using funds from his parliamentary allowance."

Another action by the party, running parallel to the proceedings in the Ethics Committee, is to file a request suggesting the collective resignation of the committee members. According to the party, this action allows for a new process to elect the committee's president. Accused of racism and homophobia for his statements, Marco Feliciano has been the target of daily protests in Congress and other parts of the country, such as the meeting of artists like Wagner Moura and Caetano Veloso in Rio, who also called for his removal from office.

The Speaker of the House, Representative Henrique Eduardo Alves (PMDB-RN), even said that the situation was "unsustainable" and asked the PSC to resolve the case. However, the party kept Feliciano as chairman of the committee. The pastor also resists leaving the position, even in the face of pressure, and on Wednesday he called for the arrest of a protester, alleging that he had been called a racist. In the opinion of Jordy, who is an alternate member of the CDHM, there is no longer room for a political agreement to resolve the issue.

"We have the tools to resolve this mess. The situation is unsustainable, to the point where the pastor is ordering the arrest of those exercising their right to free expression. It has gone beyond the acceptable limit. We will go to the Ethics Committee and also request the collective resignation of the committee members," he stated. According to the parliamentarian, the resignation of more than half of the committee members would force a new composition of the body and a new election to choose the president, hence his suggestion of collective resignation.

In addition to accusations of racism and homophobia, Pastor Feliciano also needs to explain, according to the PPS party, allegations of misuse of funds from his parliamentary allowance in the Chamber of Deputies. According to the party, he is using public money to pay law firms to defend him in lawsuits of personal interest. The complaint points out that the lawyer who filed Feliciano's defense in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in an investigation for homophobia has a job and salary paid by the Chamber. Rafael Novaes da Silva has been a parliamentary secretary since February 2011 and responded to the complaint from the Attorney General of the Republic, Roberto Gurgel, on the 21st, through a document with several biblical citations.

"I have nothing left to do."

After the PSC decided to support Feliciano's continued tenure, the Speaker of the House practically gave up and no longer seems to believe in replacing the congressman as head of the committee. "I have nothing more to do. I will meet with the leaders again on Tuesday to try, together, to find a solution, but the internal regulations don't allow anything if he doesn't want to leave," Alves stated.

The party had been negotiating Feliciano's departure with the PMDB member, but changed its stance this week. Eduardo Alves believes there may have been interference from the party's National Executive Committee to motivate the new position of the parliamentary group, according to a note in the column. Radar Online"Feliciano doesn't know how to separate the pastor from the congressman. That's why the committee isn't functioning, there are no meetings, every day is a terrible mess," lamented the president of the House.