Saturday, September 09, 2006
Junking of appeal on people's initiative dismissal sought
A COALITION of 18 law groups on Friday sought to intervene before the Supreme Court (SC) to block the petition filed by Charter change advocates seeking to annul a resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) junking their petition for people's initiative.
The Alternative Law Groups Inc., an umbrella organization of 18 law groups nationwide, said Attorney Raul Lambino, spokesman of Sigaw ng Bayan, and Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap), failed to show sufficient justification for the SC to revisit its 1997 ruling in the landmark case of Santiago versus Comelec.
In a motion to intervene, ALG spokesman and legal counsel Marlon Manuel accused petitioners of peddling as a mere separate opinion of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. the March 19, 1997 Santiago ruling despite its being a decision concurred in by the majority members of the SC.
"Petitioners' contempt for the court's decision in Santiago is crystallized in the fanciful, if not derisive, theory it now peddles before the court which characterizes its decision as a mere separate opinion of former Chief Justice
Davide. In fact, the petitioners do not hide their challenge to the validity of Santiago as the court's decision, referring to it as the questioned Santiago ruling," Manuel said.
Manuel said the petitioners conveniently ignored the SC's resolution in the People's Initiative for Reforms, Modernization and Action (Pirma) versus Comelec, wherein eight members of the court voted that there was no need to even take up the issue posed by the petitioners, namely, that it re-examine its ruling in Republic Act (RA) 6735 or the Initiative and Referendum Act.
"With this ruling in Pirma, Santiago (ruling) was affirmed with more votes. In the present case, the petitioners do not even present the issue of re-examination of Santiago and yet impugn the validity of the said ruling as a court decision," he said.
The ALG also argued that Lambino and Aumentado's petition must fail since contrary to their claim, no abuse of discretion was made when the Comelec rejected their petition for a people's initiative last Aug. 31, 2006.
The group said the Comelec simply complied with the 1997 SC decision on the insufficiency of the law and the permanent injunction imposed upon it by the high court.
Manuel further said the petitioners were merely making a mockery of the judicial process, which constitute an attack against the principle of "stare decisis," which states that when a court has once laid down a principle of law applicable to a certain set of facts, it will adhere to that principle and apply it to future cases where the facts are substantially the same.
"RA 6735 was examined three times by the SC in 1997. Three times it was considered to have failed the constitutional test of completeness and sufficiency. Now, nine years later, the petitioners, without asking that it be re-examined, arrogantly questions its examination," the ALG stated.
Overturning the SC's pronouncement in the Santiago decision in the face of similar facts would mean "diminishing the weight of precedence with our courts and thus a clear attack against the stare decisis doctrine," Manuel further said.
In its last and fourth argument, the ALG claimed Lambino and Aumentado's petition is based on a misinterpretation of the constitutional provisions on initiative and an attempt to misuse the provisions.
"As a desperate attempt to save their people's initiative, the petitioners now contend that even without an enabling law, the right of the people to amend the Constitution exists and should be allowed," he said.
Earlier, the civil society group One Voice led by former election chairman Christian Monsod filed a petition to block Lambino and Aumentado's petition with the SC. The high court has already set oral arguments on the petition on September 26. (ECV/Sunnex)
(September 9, 2006 issue)
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