The Philippines has a population of about 100 million people today. It is divided into 229 congressional districts, and a congressman represents a district. The congressmen are elected by the electorate of their respective districts to represent them in House of Representatives of the Philippines, the counterpart of the Senate of the Philippines in the policy formulation of the country, whether social, economic and political in nature. When these congressmen cast their votes during plenary sessions of the House, they cast their votes as representatives of their constituents. For example, of the 286 congressmen, 188 or 66 percent cast their votes in favor of impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. Whether they acted on their own conviction or not is open for speculation. Whether the majority of their respective constituents favor their actions or not, the positive or negative reactions of their constituents will be reflected in the coming days.
I do not believe that Speaker Sonny Belmonte acted like a “puppet” of President Benigno Aquino III. His swift action and the show of support for him by the majority of congressmen demonstrated leadership. There is reason to believe that whether or not there was political persuasion or dictum from whatever source or sources, he followed his conviction that what he did would end the confrontation betweenPresident Aquino and CJ Corona once and for all so the country can move on in addressing the problems that the country must face and solve.
President Aquino and Chief Justice Corona have no monopoly over righteousness. I believe that they both love our country. In as much as the case is now in the hands of the Senate, let it decide whether to exonerate or convict the Chief Justice. I believe the members of the Senate who are acting as judges will be fair. I do not have a crystal bowl on what decision they will make. I hope and pray that their decision will be good for our country and people.
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There are varying opinions about the impeachment by the House of CJ Corona. Senator Joker Arroyo said that by having a hand in the House’s impeachment of the Chief Justice, and the Senate’s possible affirmation of the House’s impeachment of Corona, “President Benigno Aquino III has achieved something that former dictator President Ferdinand Marcos is notorious for, but this time without having to declare martial law: the control of all three branches of the government ‘in the guise of transparency.’’’
Atty. Frank Chavez holds the opposite position. He says that under the “faithful execution” clause of theConstitution, “the President has the power and duty to enforce faithful execution of laws, including the law on plunder. Transcending the specific powers granted, the President possesses unstated residual and implied powers, including the duty to protect and promote the interest and welfare of the people. When he barred Gloria Arroyo from leaving the country, it was in exercise of that bounden duty. GMA — at that time facing six plunder charges — has the right to travel, but the greater number of people has the right to justice. As events unfolded, GMA was not as sick as she publicly portrayed herself. The props were all part of visual aids when she justifies a bid for asylum in a foreign country of her choice. The President made the right decision to bar her from leaving. It was a great escape, emboldened by a Supreme Court TRO, but aborted by the President’s iron resolve as implemented through judicial brinkmanship and daring advocacy of his alter ego, the Secretary of Justice. The TRO, issued without hearing the Government’s side, was a virtual pre-judgment on the issue of the right to travel. Had GMA gone abroad, what issue would have been left to litigate? Had GMA left, and eventually refuse to return, the Supreme Court would have been helpless in bringing her back. The problem would have been tossed back to the President as head of the Executive Department.
“The Supreme Court TRO was the tipping point. The President has had enough of what he and a considerable number of Filipinos perceive to be Supreme Court abuses. And the situation provoked the recollection of its past excesses. The President drew the line, the Chief Justice has been impeached. Impeachment, as we know, is a political exercise. While rules of procedure and evidence will be observed at the trial, no guilt or innocence will be declared. In the end, it will still be a numbers game. This is where politics will once more prove its superior strength. History has no morality. Its bold strokes, fine prints and footnotes are written only by the victor. The vanquished is left cursing the darkness of his fate. So shall it be in this conflict.”
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A statement from the board of governors and officers of Philippine Constitution Association of the Philippines (Philconsa) holds that the action of the House regarding the impeachment of CJ Corona by the Lower House violated due process of law and denied equal protection.
Philconsa Vice-President Froilan Bacungan expressed that “the manner in which the House of Representatives exercised its power of impeachment is a classic example of premeditated violation of due process of law and a denial of equal protection.”
In the same statement, Philconsa Chairman and CEO Manuel Lazaro noted that “the Impeachment Complaint was not properly verified. It simply stated ‘subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of December 2011 in Quezon City, Philippines,’ signed by Atty. Marilyn Barua-Yap, Secretary General. The verified Complaint for Impeachment, Lazaro added, should have stated that “the complainants have read the Complaint and that the allegations therein are true and correct based on their personal knowledge or authentic records.” The Complaint for Impeachment, based on Sections 3 and 4 of the Rules of Court, Lazaro added, is “therefore fatally flawed and should be treated as an unsigned pleading which produces no legal effect. “
Lazaro concluded that since the Impeachment Complaint was not verified, “the Senate is not duty-bound under the Constitution to proceed with the trial.”
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Televised discussions on the forthcoming investigation by the Senate of the impeachment case against CJ Corona have been very interesting, and given us a preview of the heated articulations during the actual trial next year. Several things are clear: The President believes that impeaching CJ Corona from his present powerful position will remove obstructions to his serious and honest quest for a corruption-free government. Second, the Chief Justice and his allies in the judiciary and the bar do not think he should be removed at all. Third, not only do we expect fairness in the senator-jurists’ treatment of the case. Fourth, we all carry the hope that whatever the outcome, the state of the nation and the Filipino people will benefit from it.
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My e-mail:dominimt2000@yahoo.com"
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