|
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Congress to question SC's order
MANILA -- Congressional leaders agreed Wednesday to question the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court (SC) on the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, as they also agreed to transmit the Articles of Impeachment once Congress resumes on November 10.
This, as SC-appointed Friends of the Court gave varied opinions on the impeachment case and the question of jurisdiction after both bodies claimed independence under the separation of powers provision of the Constitution.
After a five-hour meeting, lawmakers agree to transmit the Articles of Impeachment once session resumes on November 10.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia defended the independence of Congress from the judiciary and will not be appearing before the November 5 scheduled hearing on petitions for preliminary injunction filed by several groups against the Davide impeachment.
Drilon said the status quo order is premature because the Upper Chamber has not received the Articles of Impeachment against Davide.
Drilon, after consulting his legal team, said the Senate would file a manifestation with the Supreme Court Thursday questioning the order of the SC.
Drilon lamented that the status quo order issued by the SC has very serious implications and must be studied very carefully, since it involves a co-equal branch of government.
"This is the first time in our history that the Supreme Court has issued an injunction against the Congress of the Philippines. I am not aware that this has happened in the past. I am not aware of any jurisprudence on this point, and it has very serious implications. There are no precedents on this point," Drilon said.
After the filing of a manifestation, the Senate expects the SC to act on it and let the House of Representatives solve the issue.
Drilon rejected suggestions for Congress to hold a special session to tackle the impeachment case.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. challenged the ruling of the SC because the order is not just premature but also unconstitutional. He said he would file a separate petition contesting the ruling.
"Even if it was diplomatically worded still the act is inappropriate," Pimentel said in a television interview.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, on the other hand, called on the SC not to intervene in political issues or on a related matter of political nature like the impeachment.
He said the impeachment case is purely political and the SC should study carefully its move so the country would not be placed in a quandary.
De Venecia said he and the congressmen agreed not to violate the status quo order of the SC but they will uphold the independence of the legislature from the judiciary.
"We have to protect the territorial and political integrity of the House," said de Venecia in an ABS-CBN News Channel interview.
He said they would avail the services of private lawyers to represent the Lower House in the hearing on November 5 and manifest their position on the status quo order.
"We do not wish to defy the decision of the Supreme Court (summoning the sponsors of the impeachment complaint) because we don't want military adventurers to take advantage of the beginnings of a constitutional crisis," he added.
The last time Congress impeached a government official, it led to a popular revolt and the military-backed ouster of the sitting president, Arroyo's predecessor Joseph Estrada.
Davide is accused of misusing about 48 million pesos from a judiciary fund. If the Senate finds him guilty he would be removed from office.
The House leadership suspended sessions Tuesday to allow time for a settlement. But de Venecia said the Supreme Court raised the stakes when it ordered Congress to "maintain the status quo", effectively preventing the House from transmitting the impeachment complaint to the Senate for trial.
"There is a system of checks and balances in our country, and for this purpose, we are going to transmit, unless a settlement comes sooner before the reconvening of Congress on November 10, the impeachment complaint (to the Senate)," de Venecia said.
Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales earlier said the House of Representatives technically cannot respond to the Supreme Court's status quo order because it has already adjourned session.
Showdown
Numbers will decide the battle in Congress over the impeachment of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
Lawmakers against Davide's impeachment are ready for a showdown when sessions resume on November 10 and some congressmen will move to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, South) has House Speaker Jose de Venecia's permission to speak against the motion when this is presented on the floor, prior to a vote.
But while Cuenco is optimistic that there are enough lawmakers to outvote the motion, Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) warned that the pro-impeachment faction "can muster enough numbers to ram it through".
"Mas daghan sila (They have the numbers)," del Mar said.
He explained that the average attendance in the 226-member House is 120 to 130. Since there are 86 to 93 signatories -- that figure is no longer clear, after some changed their minds -- the pro-impeachment forces have a clear majority.
After moving for adjournment and an early recess last Wednesday, del Mar urged constituents to ask their representatives in the House to oppose the move to impeach Davide.
Different opinions
One of the SC-appointed Friends of the Court agreed with the stand of the lawmakers.
Former Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza commented that the status quo order issued by the High Court is "a little awkward (since it) does not require Congress, which in turn, may choose to violate the order".
Mendoza said Davide should just answer the charges against him instead of questioning the validity of the impeachment case
Mendoza, who has represented industrialist Eduardo Cojuangco, said Davide's refusal to answer the complaint could set a dangerous precedent where a "impeachable complaint can just ask a friend to file an impeachment complaint" ahead of a real impeachment complaint to defeat the case.
Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Regalado Maambong, on the other hand, said the SC hearing on November 5 would probably call on him to present the records of the Constitutional commission in connection with the provisions on impeachment.
Maambong and retired SC Associate Justice Florenz Regalado, who is another one of the six Friends of the Court, drafted the 1987 Constitution's provisions on impeachment.
Maambong said a plenary session is needed to allow the transmission of the impeachment complaint to the Senate, contrary to the impeachment lawmakers' threat to transmit the Articles of Impeachment without a House resolution regarding the matter.
Maambong said the SC can penalize violators of the status quo order under the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Aside from a jail term of six months, indirect contempt is punishable with a fine of P30,000 under court rules.
Salonga, for his part, said the Kilosbayan, which he heads, and the Bahay Katarungan consider Davide "innocent" of the charges.
Salonga said the use of the JDF for projects is approved by the 15-man court en banc and that any impeachment complaint should include all of them.
That being the case, any move to question the use of the JDF on certain projects should seek that "the entire Supreme Court be impeached, which would include, ironically, the dissenting justices in the coco levy case -- not only Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez but also Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and the dissenters in part -- Justices Jose Vitug and Reyanto S. Puno," Salonga said.
"That is the very thing Danding Cojuangco and his NPC congressmen will never do," he added.
Maambong supported the opinion rendered by Salonga.
Covenant
President Arroyo Wednesday called for a covenant between Congress and the judiciary to resolve the impasse on the impeachment case as her spokesman said the situation has turned grave.
"I call for a covenant between the two branches of government to resolve this impasse under the principle that it is the High Court alone that has the final authority to interpret the Constitution and the laws of the land but keeping in mind the need for strong institutional checks and balances forged by the separation of powers among co-equal branches of government. The Presidency stands for the separation of powers under the rule of law," Arroyo said in a speech in Mati, Davao Oriental.
Arroyo said she is confident the leaders of the two warring branches of government realize that "this unabated controversy is causing our nation and our democratic system more harm than good" and that the impasse would be solved soon.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said, "we realize that we're facing a grave situation and we do not wish the situation to escalate. That's why all efforts are being exerted to still come up with a solution to this crisis."
He said both camps must be able to "give and take and not try to stick to very hard positions" in order to find a solution to the impasse.
Bunye also described as "wild speculations" reports that congressmen who withdrew their signatures from the impeachment complaint got P2 million each. Benjamin Pulta/JPM/ST/Marie Neri/Sunnex Luzon
(October 30, 2003 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
