MANILA, Philippines - With Chief Justice Renato Corona seated near him, President Aquino yesterday let out his personal misgivings over the top magistrate’s appointment and took a jab at the credibility of the judiciary.
Speaking during the 1st National Criminal Justice Summit held at the Manila Hotel, Aquino recalled that under the 1987 Constitution, an outgoing president is not allowed to make any appointment two months before the elections.
Days before she was to step down as president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo went ahead with her appointment of Corona despite warnings from critics and constitutional experts.
The Supreme Court (SC) – composed mostly of her appointees – eventually upheld her appointment of Corona.
“Kung may isang lingkod bayan na tumatanaw ng utang na loob hindi sa taumbayan na siyang dapat pagmulan ng kapangyarihan kundi sa isang padron na isiniksik siya sa puwesto, maasahan po kaya natin siyang intindihin ang interes ng Pilipino (If there is a public servant who owes it not to the people but to a patron who squeezed him into position, can we expect him to be sensitive to the interest of Filipinos)?” Aquino said, with voice shaking.“Hindi ito ang unang beses na gumawa ang Korte Suprema ng mga desisyong napakahirap unawain... Ngunit alam naman po nating pinilit ni Ginang Arroyo na magtalaga pa rin ng chief justice (This was not the first time the Supreme Court made a decision that was so difficult to understand. But we know Mrs. Arroyo insisted on appointing a chief justice),” Aquino recalled.
“Bumaliktad sila nang italaga ni Ginang Arroyo ang ating kagalang-galang na Chief Justice Renato Corona: isang pwestong hindi saklaw ng ehekutibo, kundi sa hudikatura. Ang tanong ngayon: lumabag ba ang Korte Suprema sa Saligang Batas (They did an about face when Mrs. Arroyo appointed the honorable Chief Justice Renato Corona: a position not covered by the executive but by the judiciary. The question now is, Did the Supreme Court violate the Constitution?),” Aquino said.
The SC is the final arbiter of all questions regarding the constitutionality of policies.
In an emotional speech, the President recited a litany of what he considered questionable decisions of the Supreme Court, including its issuance of a temporary restraining order on the travel ban on Arroyo and its declaring as unconstitutional the creation of a truth commission to investigate irregularities in the Arroyo administration.
“Wala itong ibang layon kundi iwasto ang mali ng nakaraan sa lalong madaling panahon (Its sole purpose is to right the wrongs in the past as swiftly as possible),” Aquino said, referring to the truth commission.
“Subalit alam naman natin ang nangyari: labag daw ito sa konstitusyon ayon sa Korte Suprema. Unang hakbang pa lang natin, may barikada na agad (But we all know what happened next: It’s against the Constitution according to the Supreme Court. There was a barricade in our path even before we could take our first step),” he said.
He also assailed the SC for changing its mind on setting conditions for the temporary lifting of the travel ban on Arroyo.
“Pansinin po ninyo: Nang naglabas ng TRO ang Korte Suprema, may kaakibat itong mga kondisyon. Subalit hindi nagtagal, sila mismo ang umaming hindi naman pala kailangang tuparin ang mga alituntuning ito (Take note. The SC set conditions for the issuance of a TRO. But they later admitted the conditions need not be followed),” Aquino said.
“They set rules that they don’t expect to be followed,” he pointed out.
He also defended the creation of a panel composed of officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate election cheating during the Arroyo administration. The panel filed electoral sabotage case against Arroyo and two others with the Pasay City Regional Trial Court.
“It’s the duty of the Comelec to ensure clean and credible elections. So it’s natural for the poll body to seek DOJ help in investigating alleged cheating in 2007,” he said.
“Creation of panels like this is normal but it’s now being questioned in the Supreme Court. They’re also questioning the issuance of a warrant of arrest on Arroyo by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court,” he maintained.
Still coequalDespite his tirade, Aquino assured Corona and the justices that he recognizes the judiciary as a coequal branch and that he is not meddling in its affairs. He reminded the justices that serving the public should be the paramount concern of every official.
“Iginagalang po natin ang pagkakapantay sa kapangyarihan ng hudikatura at ng ehekutibong sangay ng gobyerno. Wala po tayong balak na tapakan ang karapatan nila, o bastusin ang kredibilidad ng sinuman. Pero kailangan nating balikan ang mga batayang prinsipyo ng ating demokrasya. Kami pong mga nanumpa sa tungkulin ay iisa lamang ang pinagkakautangan ng loob: kayong mga boss namin, ang sambayanang Pilipino (We respect the equality of the judiciary and the executive. We don’t intend to trample on rights or besmirch the credibility of anyone. But we need to be reminded of the basic principles of democracy. We are sworn to be beholden to no one but our boss – the Filipino people),” he declared.
Aquino admitted that while he is not a lawyer, he has a clear perception of what is right and wrong.
“Naninindigan pa rin akong ang katarungan ay hindi manibelang basta-basta naililiko sa kung saan nais sumadsad ng mga mahistrado. Hindi ito laruan ng mga abugado’t hukom na binabaliktad at pinapasirko ayon sa kanilang kagustuhan (I am firm in my belief that upholding justice is not like being behind the wheel where magistrates can go wherever they please. It’s not something lawyers can toy with, turn upside down, or swing according to their wishes),” he stressed.
“Nanumpa akong pangangalagaan at ipagtatanggol ang konstitusyon, ipatupad ang mga batas nito, maging makatarungan sa bawat tao, at italaga ang aking sarili sa paglilingkod sa bansa. Wala akong balak na lumabag sa aking sinumpaang tungkulin; wala akong balak na biguin ang taumbayan (I’ve sworn to protect the Constitution, implement its laws, be just to everyone, and be at the service of the country. It’s never my intention to break my oath or fail my countrymen), ” he declared.
“Obligasyon ko, at obligasyon nating lahat, na manatiling tumahak sa iisang direksyon, sa ilalim ng nagkakaisa nating adhika: ang paglingkuran at pangalagaan ang interes ng sambayanan (It’s my obligation, and the obligation of all of us, to stay on a common path, with a single objective of serving and protecting the interest of the nation),” Aquino said.
Aquino and Corona shook hands at least twice during yesterday’s event. Also present in the gathering were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Aquino left after delivering the speech.
Just a reminder
“He (Aquino) is basically reminding all of us in government that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. It’s a basic principle of a republican government,” Lacierda explained.
The President, in his speech, only meant to “remind all of us that we’re all accountable to the people.”
“It’s a basic premise that we should all be reminded of. The President merely wanted to remind all of us the basic tenets of the Constitution,” Lacierda said.
“The President made his point. He wanted to make a statement knowing fully well the presence of the other heads of the other branches of government,” he said.
“This is a justice summit and it is good that the entire branch, the three branches of government, were all present, and to remind all of us, everyone of them, not only the legal community but the government officials, of our role as public officials and the need to be accountable to the Filipino people,” he pointed out.
“It’s very clear to him that we ought to be reminded that we are all accountable and there’s only one boss here – not one particular person but the Filipino people. And we must do whatever is right to serve the ends and interest of the Filipino people,” he said.
Lacierda also brushed aside insinuations that Aquino was laying the groundwork for the impeachment of Corona.
As regards the call for Corona’s resignation or inhibition from cases involving Arroyo, Lacierda said it would be up to the Chief Justice.
“When you speak of impeachment, it will be coming from the House. When you speak of resignation and inhibition, it will be coming from the initiative of the person concerned – in this case, Chief Justice Corona,” he explained.
“So we leave it with them and it is not up to the executive to decide on that. We will leave it with the three options (that) are left to the other branches of the government – other personalities in the other branches of government,” he said.
He stressed there was nothing personal about Aquino’s message.
“But basically this is nothing personal. It’s basically a statement again on accountability,” Lacierda explained.
“We leave it with the SC how they would like to interpret it. In fact, my understanding was that [when] the Chief Justice was asked to make a comment, he did not make a comment,” Lacierda recalled.
Concerns
For Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Aquino delivered the right message but at the wrong occasion.
“This will not bode well for our countrymen because we might end up with anarchy or mob rule,” Lacson said.
He explained that the local government units might follow the action of the executive branch and start challenging the authority of the trial courts in certain cases.
In order to avoid this, Lacson said that it would be best for the President and Chief Justice to meet privately to thresh out their issues.
He said that the Senate President and the Speaker may also step in as mediators.
Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also called for an immediate end to the rift between the President and Corona because “it is not doing the country any good.”
Estrada said that he is even willing to volunteer as a middleman between the two leaders just to put an end to the rift.
However, Senate President Enrile said that he would not dare interfere in the affairs of the two coequal branches in the same way that he would not want them to interfere in the affairs of the Senate.
Enrile said that it would be better for a non-political group, perhaps the church, to undertake the task of mediating in the dispute.
“Because they are political departments of the government, the executive and Congress and it involves the non-political department of the government, I would suggest that the church should talk to both sides, they’re the peacemakers,” Enrile said.
“I would not attempt to talk to the President and the Chief Justice to stop what they’re doing in the same manner that I think they will not tell me to stop what I’m doing. That’s the essence of the three branches of the government. So I would suggest a neutral body, it could be the Catholic Church and the other churches being the peacemakers of the country,” he added.
