SC TO HOUSE: WAIT FOR FINAL RULING ON GUTIERREZ PLEA TO STOP IMPEACH
MANILA, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 (STAR) By Edu Punay - The Supreme Court (SC) asked lawmakers yesterday to wait for its final ruling on Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez's plea to stop her impeachment before setting into motion any procedure to oust her.
The SC made the call in response to a declaration by House justice committee chairman Rep. Neil Tupas Jr. that they would immediately start the impeachment process against Gutierrez after the High Court's rejection of her bid to stop the procedure.
"That will be the decision of the chairman of the justice committee, but it might be violative of the processes of the court if they proceed when the decision is not yet final," SC spokesman Midas Marquez warned.
"The decision is not yet final. Our procedure provides for filing of motion for reconsideration. So as I have said, it would be more prudent for all parties to maintain status quo. Constitutional process has to be respected," Marquez explained.
He stressed the Ombudsman has 15 days from receipt of the SC decision to file an appeal. He said acting on the Ombudsman's appeal is an SC priority.
Marquez also brushed aside allegations that the SC's decision was political in nature as Gutierrez was an appointee of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. All but one of the 15 justices were Arroyo appointees.
"Take some time to read the decision and the voting alone will tell you the court is equally divided and is not playing politics," Marquez said.
"The voting alone tells us that the justices acted on their own respective perceptions of the law and applicable facts," he stressed.
The court voted 7-5-2 in full court session to dismiss the petition of Gutierrez seeking to stop the House committee on justice from proceeding with the consolidated impeachment complaints filed against her by former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros and the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) last year.
The SC ruled that the House committee did not violate the one-year constitutional ban on successive impeachment proceedings, contrary to Gutierrez's claim.
Marquez said the SC believes the impeachment cases – filed on July 22 and Aug. 3 last year – may be tackled as one because they were jointly referred to the House committee on Aug. 11.
Due process
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., for his part, said Gutierrez is assured of due process if and when she faces lawmakers to answer the impeachment cases filed against her.
"The Honorable Ombudsman has nothing to fear. As our past actions show, we shall always act with great circumspection to safeguard her constitutionally guaranteed rights in the course of ferreting out the truth," Belmonte said.
"The High Court's decision not only affirms the exclusive power of the House over impeachment cases; more importantly, it recognizes that in this particular case, the House has used its power judiciously and fairly," the Speaker said in a statement.
"There is now no obstacle for the House of Representatives to proceed from where it left off," Belmonte said, referring to the status quo ante order issued by the SC on Sept. 14 last year.
The SC order raised a howl among lawmakers, who thought it was an encroachment on the exclusive power of the House to hear impeachment complaints.
Belmonte was able to convince House members to hold in abeyance any action on the Ombudsman's impeachment pending SC's ruling on Gutierrez's motion
"The outcome of this case provides a compelling argument for sobriety and caution in resolving difficult matters, especially those which presumably put in conflict the great branches of our government," he said.
Warning from minority
The House minority bloc also warned the committee on justice against resuming its impeachment proceedings against Gutierrez ahead of an SC final ruling on her case.
"I think it would be more prudent on the part of the committee on justice to wait for the final resolution of the case," Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a press briefing.
"I think we always honor and respect the ruling of the Supreme Court, but considering that the process is still not terminated with finality, I would join the call that the committee on justice should wait until the decision of the Supreme Court is final before resuming the proceedings," he said.
Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, in the same news briefing, said the SC has no business stopping the House from performing its mandated task of hearing impeachment cases.
"While I respect the SC ruling, I must say again that the Supreme Court should not get in the way for the House of Representatives to perform its mandated duty to hear impeachment cases," she said.
Committee vice chair Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said it won't hurt for the panel to wait "a little while more" for the SC to rule on an appeal by Gutierrez.
Lanao del Norte Rep. Fatima Aliah Dimaporo reminded lawmakers to "focus on issues" and take lessons from the suicide of former defense secretary Angelo Reyes after an intense Senate grilling.
"This admonition has gained even more weight with the SC decision allowing the House to proceed with deliberations on the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Let us ensure that solid evidence rather than biased polemics guide this constitutional process," Dimaporo said.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said the SC decision was actually "a victory for truth on both sides."
"Now, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez would have to explain before the world her innocence and should it be detrimental to her, then this would be a giant step to curb corruption," Castelo said.
"I believe that as soon as Congress may take cognizance of the impeachment move against the lady Ombudsman, the whole proceedings will be done in the best parliamentary manner possible if only to preclude one from being unduly attacked, embarrassed or humiliated," he said.
Begin impeachment now
For businessmen, the impeachment proceedings against Gutierrez should push through "without further delay."
"It is unfortunate that the five-month suspension of the impeachment process allowed the Ombudsman to inflict more harm on the Filipino people with her office's disastrous handling of the Carlos Garcia plunder case, leading to the former military comptroller's release on bail last December," the Makati Business Club said in a statement.
"The recent testimony at the Senate of former COA auditor Heidi Mendoza simply served to underline the anomalous nature of the plea bargain agreement with Mr. Garcia that the Ombudsman allowed the government prosecutors to pursue," the group said.
Mendoza was the state auditor who spilled the beans on funds misuse in the Armed Forces, with the connivance of some state auditors. Garcia is a former military comptroller being accused of pocketing more than P300 million in military funds.
"Thus, we urge the House Committee on Justice, chaired by Congressman Niel Tupas, to pursue the impeachment proceedings without further delay. For far too long, one person has stood in the way of the Filipino people's overwhelming desire to advance the fight against corruption and punish corrupt public officials," the MBC statement read.
"We appeal to our legislators, put an end to the incompetence and repeated subversion of justice, and take this necessary step toward rebuilding the people's trust in our justice system," MBC said.
Meanwhile, an official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) lauded the SC decision but expressed hope that impeachment proceedings would not become a forum for grandstanding for lawmakers.
"They should find answers to the question if the Ombudsman did her job and not an opportunity for politicians to grandstand. I hope that Congress would speed up the process," Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace, said over Radio Veritas.
"This is a way for us to step things right along so we could hold the Ombudsman accountable to the country. We have long waited for the Ombudsman to be made answerable for her actions and one way of doing it is through impeachment. Here, she would be able to prove that she was merely doing her job and if not, then she can be removed from her post," he said.
He also said the decision would improve public perception of the SC.
"This shows that politics does not affect the SC when it crafts its ruling on cases and it does not impede the quest for real justice in our society," he said.
Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) co-chair Sr. Mary John Mananzan also lauded the SC ruling.
"I just hope that Congress would pursue this especially now, with all these scandals. She (Gutierrez) really did not do anything about them," Mananzan said. With Paolo Romero, Mike Frialde, Ma. Elisa Osorio, Evelyn Macairan
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