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Monday, October 27, 2003
Sin, judges, court workers back Davide
MANILA -- Even before the Senate could hold a caucus Monday on the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., two senators have already squabbled over the case.
Judges and court employees all over the country are set to hold rallies and noise barrages, also Monday, in support of the beleaguered Supreme Court Chief Justice.
Davide has found an ally in former Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, who said the accusations against the Supreme Court Chief Justice are nothing but lies.
More than 80 congressmen signed a second impeachment complaint Friday against Davide for allegedly misappropriating the Judicial Development Fund (JDF), an accusation that the Chief Justice strongly denied.
It earlier voted down a complaint against Davide filed by lawyers of deposed President Joseph Estrada, questioning the Chief Justice's act of swearing in then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Presidency.
Davide also said the filing of a second impeachment case against him is unconstitutional because an ouster case cannot be filed against an impeachable public official one after another.
He earlier described the impeachment case as politically motivated, saying it was initiated by congressmen belonging to the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). The NPC is headed by businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, who is facing several cases in relation to the coco levy funds.
Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson criticized a colleague for saying this very same thing, as he urged Sen. Joker Arroyo to refrain from commenting on the impeachment case.
Lacson said Senator Arroyo should be objective and neutral as a senator-judge.
The Philippine Judges Association (PJA) and the Philippine Confederations of Court Employees Association (Philconcea) earlier said majority of their members support Davide.
They believe the new impeachment case is an attack on the judiciary and that Davide did not misappropriate a single centavo from the JDF.
Thus, they will hold rallies in support of Davide.
President Arroyo has openly defended Davide and denied having a hand in the impeachment case.
Sin, also showing his support for Davide, said in a pastoral letter the charges of irregularities involving millions of pesos could never tarnish Davide's image. Davide, he pointed out, participated in the successful overthrow of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
"He is a man who selflessly lives for God and country, leadership qualities very much needed today. I personally do not believe in any of the accusations being thrown against the Chief Justice. I know that he is very sincere and forthright in the execution of his duties," Cardinal Sin said.
The former head of the most influential seat in the country likewise pointed out that there is no truth to the allegations because the Chief Magistrate is definitely against corruption.
"I have known Chief Justice Davide all these years. His character, competence and honor have been more than sufficiently proven in the past. He was a distinguished and outspoken member of the Batasang Pambansa during the Marcos regime. He helped organize the transition government after Edsa 1, when we toppled the corrupt dictatorship. He was an active participant in the 1986 Constitutional Commission," the Prelate lamented.
Apart from being behind Edsa 1 and 2, Davide also restored the confidence of the public on the electoral system when he was the chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
As a member and later on as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he brought back the people's faith in the country's judicial system. In fact, he was one of the most trusted Filipinos after Edsa 2, Sin added.
Cardinal Sin called on to all faithful to pray for Davide that he may be given the strength and courage to face all these controversies.
As Lacson called on Arroyo to either keep quiet or inhibit himself from the impeachment trial, one other senator urged Davide to ignore any call for him to resign.
In a statement, Recto said resignation implies guilt and that any call defies logic in discussing the alleged misuse of Judicial Development Funds (JDF).
"A Senate trial would compel him (Davide) to answer their queries on the JDF. So why would they call for his resignation when such would effectively dissolve the forum in which they can argue their case?" Recto said.
Davide's resignation would also deprive the nation of the opportunity to be educated on the nuances of the JDF.
Recto said he expects Davide to file a motion to dismiss the Articles of Impeachment the moment the Senate convenes itself as an impeachment tribunal.
This is because the second impeachment complaint is against the Constitution and that may lead to a constitutional crisis.
Lacson, however, believes otherwise and called on "senators who can't help making comments in the media regarding the merits of the case have no business being senator-judges and should be decent enough to inhibit from participating in the impeachment case against Davide."
Nevertheless, Senator Arroyo said there is no sub-judice rule in an impeachment case, as it is a political trial clothed in judicial procedure.
"There is no sub-judice rule in impeachment case. In the Clinton impeachment, US senators and congressmen freely discussed and debated the charges in media, they appeared in talk shows and interviews outside the Congress," Arroyo noted.
Senator Robert Barbers, for his part, ejected the alleged reports that there is connivance between President Arroyo and Cojuangco to oust Davide from the High Tribunal.
President Arroyo earlier denied the accusation.
"I don't think there is a connivance between the President and Nationalist People's Coalition president Danding Cojuangco, to impeach Davide," Barbers said.
According to Barbers, it is only prudent for Malacaņang not to interfere with the affairs of Congress, particularly in the issue against Davide.
"It is only right that the President has allowed the Constitutional process to take its course in so far as the impeachment complaint against the Davide is concerned," Barbers added. JPM/Marie Neri/Sunnex Luzon
(October 27, 2003 issue)
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