SOLON: WE HAVE NUMBERS TO IMPEACH CORONA
[PHOTO - JOSE MIDAS
MARQUES]
MANILA, DECEMBER 12, 2011 (MANILA TIMES) Written by : JAIME
PILAPIL REPORTER - Assault on judiciary threatens democracy –
Marquez.
THE Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday denounced the reported plot to destabilize
the High Tribunal and oust Chief Justice Renato Corona, saying such moves could
lead to a constitutional crisis.
In a statement, SC spokesman and court administrator Jose Midas Marquez said
that while the tribunal is alarmed by attempts to paint the justices as enemies
of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, it will not yield to political pressure and
surrender the independence of the judiciary.
"We note with much disappointment that there seems to be a determined effort
on the political front to foment public distrust and resentment for the Supreme
Court. We denounce attempts to initiate and railroad impeachment proceedings
against the members of the Court. These plans pose a direct threat to the
independence of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary," Marquez said.
He was referring to reports that the House of Representatives may amend its
own rules and fast track the impeachment process against the Chief Justice by
skipping the Committee on Justice and going straight to the plenary, and
thereafter transmitting the articles of impeachment immediately to the Senate.
Marquez said that the plot to impeach Corona "seriously threatens our very
democratic institutions. It is not an assault on the Chief Justice alone, but on
the other Supreme Court Justices as well, and on the very Institution they
represent."
"To take aim at the members of the Court, including the Chief Justice,
amounts to sacrificing constitutional stability in exchange for ruthless
political objectives. It is a great sacrilege to invoke the so-called mandate of
the people, as a basis to abandon the Constitution in favor of political
convenience. We should all bear in mind that the oath of public office requires
all officials of the Republic to faithfully and conscientiously preserve and
defend the Constitution. This is the principle that guides the Chief Justice and
the Members of the Court. The independence of the judiciary is not a mere slogan
taken from the principle of separation of powers. It is a living and functional
feature of the republican form of government, assured by the Constitution and
our democracy as part and parcel of the system of checks and balances," he
added.
He said the High Tribunal is also "deeply concerned by the dangerous
hostility reflected by the irresponsible statements of officials who are quoted
as saying that what is legal is not always right. Taken together with the
announcement of a secret plot against the chief justice, the legal community is
understandably worried to what lengths political agendas and personal mood or
whim will affect judicial independence. "
However, he said that the High Tribunal "will stand fast and fearless to fend
off a potential constitutional crisis."
"To yield to the political pressure being stirred up against it is to
surrender the independence of the judiciary—an unacceptable situation that is
worth fighting with unyielding vigilance. If the independence of the Court is
taken away, there will be nothing to stop despotic or tyrannical power. Any
disregard for the rule of law, no matter how popular or fashionable, poisons our
Constitution and corrupts our democracy," he added.
He urged Malacanang to thoroughly study the decisions of the high tribunal
involving former President Gloria Arroyo to determine if there was basis to
claim that the Chief Justice or the court was partial to the former leader.
"A cursory look of the Chief Justice's judicial record will readily show his
impartiality, not only with the present administration, but likewise with the
past administration. In Islamic Da'wah Council of the Philippines v. Office of
the Executive Secretary, the Chief Justice nullified EO 46 which was issued on
26 October 2001 by the former administration. The Chief Justice also joined the
majority in The Secretary of National Defense v. Manalo in ruling that "[t]he
ineffective investigation and protection by government agents under the
secretary of defense and the AFP failed to guarantee the right of security of
respondents as required by the Constitution. Again, the Chief Justice voted with
the majority in Central Mindanao University v. The Honorable Executive
Secretary, concerning the annulment of Presidential Proclamation 310 that took
property from a state university for distribution to indigenous peoples and
cultural communities. Similarly in David v. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Chief
Justice, as a member of a unanimous Court, voted to nullify the warrantless
arrests against petitioners David, Llamas and others, and the searches and
seizures against the Tribune, under authority of Presidential Proclamation No.
1017 and General Order No. 5 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for being
unconstitutional," Marquez said.
"Some criticisms follow the decision in People v. Romualdez, where the Chief
Justice concurred in the result, allegedly because the son of respondent
Romualdez, Cong. Martin Romualdez, is a close ally of the former president.
Plainly, views such as these are strained and myopic because they suggest that
every decision favoring a party who happens to be friendly to the former
president is a decision in her favor. This is certainly a ridiculous point of
view," he added.
He said that the SC's ruling that the Truth Commission created by President
Aquino was unconstitutional could have been "cured" by a simple amendment to
include in the investigation all other past administrations.
"The majority simply ruled that the mandate of the Truth Commission should
not be confined only to the former president [Arroyo] because this would amount
to special or unique treatment, which is unconstitutional. In other words, the
defect was minor and could be remedied by a simple amendment to include all
other past administrations. If there is any complaint about the Truth
Commission, it lies principally in the fact that there has been no effort to
rectify this aspect of the scope of work," Marquez explained.
"We wish to reassure the public that these claims being cast against the
Chief Justice and the Court are pure fantasy and baseless. As a separate branch
of government, the Court and the Judiciary must resist all attempts and efforts
to turn it into a compliant tool for any of the other branches. It is precisely
in keeping with the republican system that the Court must never be seen as a
mere lackey or yes man of the executive or the legislative departments. If we
were allowed some leeway to speculate a little, it seems that what others want
is to have enough influence to dictate how justice should be dispensed and what
the outcome of cases should be."
Mr. Aquino had said that he is neither working for the impeachment of the
Chief Justice nor attacking the credibility of the tribunal as a whole.
"I think, at this point in time, it is important these questions should be
propounded and that's the only thing I did," Mr. Aquino told reporters in a
press briefing.
When asked if he was supporting the move of his allies in Congress, the
President's tart reply was: " I do not tell you my plans or [to] anybody else."
Mr. Aquino had also said that he was open to accepting the proposal of some
Catholic bishops to mediate in the rift between the Office of the Chief
Executive and the Supreme Court.
Mr. Aquino said there is a long list of SC rulings that were confusing the
executive department.
"All these decisions had impact on the Executive's ability to govern.
We had motions for reconsideration, but still we did not quarrel. But the
list is getting longer. Until what point are we co-equal? There are several
questions and we just had to bare them. I don't think it is what the
Constitution is telling us. That's why we have checks and balances," the
President said.
'We have numbers to impeach CJ' Monday, December
12, 2011 00:00 Written by : RUBEN D. MANAHAN 4TH REPORTER
[PHOTO - Liberal Party of the Philippines]
TAKING their cue from President Benigno Aquino 3rd, some congressmen-members
of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) warned Chief Justice Renato Corona to watch his
moves since they could muster the needed votes to impeach him.
An ally of President Benigno Aquino 3rd at the House of Representatives
expressed confidence that they could gather enough votes to impeach the Chief
Justice if a complaint is filed against him for his alleged impartiality in
handling cases involving former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of
Pampanga.
Rep. Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya Jr. of Cavite, LP secretary general,
believes that the partymates of President Aquino at the House would unite should
there be a move to impeach the Chief Justice.
"I can only speak for the LP. The party has processes in handling issues such
as this. After going through the required process and after thorough
consultation with all LP members of the House, then my personal guess is that
pessimistically we can get sufficient support or optimistically get overwhelming
support if ever the decision is to impeach the Chief Justice," Abaya, said.
Rep. Walden Bello of Akbayan party-list affirmed Abaya's statement, saying
that they have the numbers to impeach Corona in the House. However, Bello said
that they would still have to decide whether to pursue the course of action
against the Chief Justice.
"I think his actions in the next few weeks will determine this. If the
decisions he promotes continue to be brazenly biased in favor of his former
boss, then he will only have himself to blame for drawing the wrath of the
representatives of the people," Bello said.
For their part, Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada 3rd of Quezon province, House
Deputy Majority Leader Miro Quimbo of Marikina City (Metro Manila) said that it
is too early to talk about impeaching Corona since an impeachment complaint
should be filed first.
"First of all, there has to be a complaint. The complaint should be clear and
understandable that CJ Corona violated the Constitution. Without a complaint at
this time, it is hard further add to all the speculation," Tanada, who is also
the LP spokesman, said.
"I think it is premature to make any discussion regarding the Chief Justice's
impeachment considering that no complaint has been filed yet," Quimbo, LP's
deputy spokesman, said.
"Let it be said, however, that Congress has always acted independently. It
will decide on the basis of facts and evidence presented to it, not on the basis
of any political party or alliance "He "JusIn his speech last week at the First
National Criminal Justice Summit, Aquino slammed Corona for being Mrs. Arroyo's
midnight appointee. He also questioned the impartiality of the Supreme Court in
deciding cases involving the former president.
Meanwhile, a ranking member of the House of Representatives on Sunday said
that the justice committee will soon be coming out with its recommendation on
the impeachment complaint filed against High Court Associate Justice Mariano del
Castillo for allegedly plagiarizing a decision.
Quimbo, vice chair of the committee, said that the panel, which only has 10
session days to finish the process, has enough time to complete its
deliberations.
"Whether we will recommend dismissal or prosecution, we have at least ten
session days left. The committee needs only three more session days to determine
sufficiency of the grounds, presentation of defense, and final voting on the
merits of the charges," Quimbo said.
The panel found the complaint sufficient in form and substance.
Quimbo said del Castillo will be given the chance to present his side.
"He should avail of his right to pre-sent evidence so that the committee can
better appreciate the issues. Right now, only the complainants have been able to
present [evidence]," the lawmaker explained.
"Justice del Castillo should now present his case and convince the members of
the committee of his innocence. This is his day in court, so to speak," he
added.
Representatives Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, Kaka Bag-Ao of Akbayan,
Bernadeth Herrara-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon party-list, Cesar Sarmiento of
Catanduanes, Irvin Alcala of Quezon, Vicente Belmonte Jr. of Iligan City, Walden
Bello of Akbayan party-list, Joseph Victor Ejercito of San Juan City, Florencio
Flores of Bukidnon, Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao and Bolet Banal of Quezon City
endorsed the impeachment complaint.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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