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Monday, September 29, 2005
High court gives Cebu solon petition a break
CEBU CITY -- A Cebuano legislator's petition questioning the House of Representatives' dismissal of the impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has a "glimmer of hope" at the Supreme Court.
The High Court gave due course to the plea of pro-impeachment lawyers led by Harry Roque and Representative Clavel Asas-Martinez (Cebu, 4th district), who helped draft the amended impeachment complaint of opposition and party-list congressmen.
Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. ordered House Speaker Jose de Venecia and committee on justice chairman Simeon Datumanong to comment within 10 days on the petition.
"You might say it's a good sign. There's a glimmer of hope for the movants (petitioners)," said Supreme Court (SC) administrator and spokesman Ismael Khan Jr.
However, the SC en banc dismissed Wednesday two of the three petitions seeking to nullify the decision of the House of Representatives to dismiss the House justice committee report that junked all three impeachment complaints against President Arroyo.
Khan said lawyer Oliver Lozano's complaint was denied with finality outright for insufficiency in form and substance, while lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr.'s petition was also denied but the court said he may still file a new one based on new grounds.
Lawyers from the Roque and Butuyan law firm and Martinez had questioned before the SC the constitutionality of the House's ratification of the committee report by a vote of 158 to 51, with six abstentions.
Martinez, a former ally of Arroyo, was the only Cebuano representative who voted against the committee report last September 6.
The impeachment complaints stemmed from allegations that the President committed electoral fraud during last year's polls.
Wiretapped conversations allegedly showed that Arroyo conspired with former election official Virgilio Garcillano to rig the elections in parts of Mindanao.
The "Hello Garci" tapes are now the subject of a Senate inquiry, with a senior military official revealing Wednesday that he witnessed massive cheating for the President in Lanao del Sur.
Martinez and the other lawyers asked the SC to nullify the act of Congress in adopting the decision of the justice committee to discuss "prejudicial questions" ahead of a constitutional determination of sufficiency in form and substance of the three complaints.
"Clearly the House of Representatives committed an unconstitutional act--a grave abuse of discretion tantamount to lack or excess of jurisdiction," the petitioners said.
They also asked the SC to direct de Venecia to remand the amended complaint to the justice committee so that the committee may proceed with a determination of the sufficiency of its form and substance, according to the 1987 Constitution and the various applicable rules of procedure.
Roque said neither the Constitution nor the Rules of Procedure allows deliberations on "prejudicial questions" in an impeachment proceeding.
He said the rules only provide a two-stage process of deliberation on the sufficiency of any impeachment complaint: the first being sufficiency as to form, and the second being sufficiency of substance.
By interjecting deliberations on "prejudicial questions" prior to determination of form and substance, Roque said the majority in the committee on justice amended the Rules of Procedure.
Seventy-nine signatures of legislators would have sent the impeachment complaint directly to the Senate for trial. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(September 29, 2005 issue)
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