SC TO PALACE: THIS COURT IS NOT AN ARROYO COURT
MANILA, OCTOBER 16, 2010 (STAR) By Edu Punay - The Supreme Court (SC) denied Palace insinuations yesterday that it was favoring former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in issuing an order reinstating a former official removed by President Aquino through an executive order.
"Only time can really tell that this indeed is not an 'Arroyo court.' And slowly, that has already been debunked by past rulings of this court that were adverse to the appointing authority and recent decisions that favored the new administration," court administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez told a press briefing.
The SC, through status quo ante, temporarily reinstated former National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman, and stopped the House of Representatives from proceeding with the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, widely perceived as an ally of Mrs. Arroyo.
"It's not possible that in all cases where interests of the former administration are at stake, they (new administration) will automatically lose especially if they have all the valid grounds raised in pleadings they file before the Court," he stressed.
Marquez said the Palace's allegations of imprudence on the part of the SC in its recent ruling were "mere speculations."
He also dispelled fears of a possible constitutional crisis as a result of the misunderstanding, saying what had transpired between the Palace and the SC was just an "exchange of explanations."
"I seriously doubt that we will go any further beyond this point. The President has expressed his disappointment and said his piece, and we have already explained why the Court came out with the SQA (status quo ante) order," he said. "I'm hoping that that would be the end of this exchange of explanations."
Marquez vowed to exercise "judicial restraint" by not commenting further on the issue. He stressed that the latest SQ covered only Lucman.
"It would be very difficult to reinstate the many others who were removed from their posts. The Court is aware of this consequence to the executive," he told The STAR.
"The fact that the SQA order covers only the Lucman petition shows that it is a class of its own and it cannot be invoked as a blanket remedy for all the so-called midnight appointees," he said.
"Judicial review, which includes the power to issue TROs (temporary restraining orders) and SQA orders, is not a privilege, but a duty imposed by the Constitution on the court. It cannot shirk this duty," he said.
"Rest assured that we have a Supreme Court which is not governed by passing emotions and daily polls, but by the rule of law; serving not the special interest of the few, but the best interest of law; committed not to self preservation, but to the preservation of those great constitutional principles bequeathed by history," he said.
The High Court on Wednesday issued a status quo ante order reinstating Lucman to her post pending resolution of her petition questioning EO 2.
The SC ordered respondents led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. "to observe the status quo prevailing before the issuance of Executive Order No. 2 dated July 30, 2010," the court order read.
Other officials contesting EO 2 were Director Eddie Tamondong of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Board Authority (SBMA), Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo de Castro, administrator for Visayas of the Board of Administrators of the Cooperative Development Authority Irma Villanueva, National Commission on Indigenous People commissioner Francisca Rosquita and state solicitor Cheloy Garafil.
Like Lucman, Garafil also filed a very urgent motion for the issuance of an SQA.
Garafil argued that EO 2 "violates the Constitution by expanding the definition/interpretation of what constitutes midnight appointment."
She said it was also tantamount to "removal from government service, in the absence of any justifiable cause and due process, is wantonly illegal and plainly uncouth."
Garafil, who had also served as prosecutor in the Department of Justice, was appointed state solicitor in OSG last March 5 or six days before the period covered by the ban on appointments.
She took her oath last March 22, after receiving confirmation only on March 19.
But last Aug. 6, Solicitor General Anselmo Cadiz verbally ordered her termination in "violation of her rights to due process and security of tenure."
Under EO 2, appointments made by former President Arroyo and other appointing authorities shall be considered midnight appointments including those made before March 11.
'Supreme Court order on GMA appointees a dangerous precedent' By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated October 15, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (437)
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino accused the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday of setting a bad precedent that could cause "chaos and paralysis" in government when it stopped the removal of Secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, one of the many midnight appointments of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Aquino said the SC's status quo ante order against Executive Order 2 will embolden hundreds of similarly situated appointees who had already been replaced, resigned, or recalled, to demand that they be reinstated or retained.
"And having returned to their obtained posts, what can we expect from people who accepted illegal appointments?" he said.
"This order has the potential to derail, or even nullify, our efforts to uncover and reverse midnight deals, streamline the bureaucracy, and implement reforms to bring back good governance.
"It will enable those who had participated in midnight deals to, at the very least, cover their tracks, if not complete acts inimical to the public interest."
Mr. Aquino said the SC order granting the Lucman's petition could affect other cases pending before the SC.
"We issued Executive Order No. 2 recalling, withdrawing, or revoking midnight appointments, because the previous administration had exceeded and abused the limits of its powers to appoint," he said.
"We had to issue EO 2 because there were people who accepted illegal appointments. By knowingly accepting illegal appointments, they became part of a conspiracy to impede and to thwart, our people's clamor for a return to good governance."
Mr. Aquino said while the status quo ante order applies to only one of four petitioners, it could have far-reaching consequences.
"By focusing on the minutiae of the case, the Supreme Court effectively turned back the clock," he said.
"It dishonors the decency of those who had the courtesy to resign. The potential result of this will be chaos and paralysis in the executive branch of government, as the legitimacy of officials appointed to replace those already removed will be cast in doubt."
Mr. Aquino said his appointees uncovered close to a billion pesos worth of anomalous contracts that had been entered into during the Arroyo administration.
His administration cancelled those contracts and saved the government hundreds of millions of pesos, he added.
Mr. Aquino asked the SC to exercise judicial prudence at a time when Filipinos deserve confidence-building measures from all government institutions.
"We appeal to the Supreme Court to broaden its view and show... the interest of the majority," he said.
Mr. Aquino said the order came shortly after the SC issued a similar status quo ante order preventing the House of Representatives from acting on the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
"That recent action of the Supreme Court tests the limits of its constitutional authority, and this latest order could precipitate a clash with another separate, co-equal branch of government," he said.
Mr. Aquino said the country's democracy was built on the constitutional principle of the separation of powers among the three branches of government.
"We therefore appeal, as a co-equal branch of government, for the Supreme Court to consider the implications of its order," he said. - With Edu Punay, Marvin Sy
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