While both the Supreme Court (SC) and the House of Representatives resolved that a second impeachment complaint against Davide was unconstitutional, it did not actually clear many other issues or restore public trust in the institutions that were supposed to be working for the people’s welfare at all times.
Never had the exchange of public accusations between the country’s top leaders been so bitter. In their battle before the court of public opinion, it was both pathetic and encouraging to watch and hear Davide grumbling about being a victim of political maneuvering.
Davide candidly said that certain influential people were behind his impeachment, as they did not want him to remain in the Supreme Court because they could not "twist my arm."
He said the impeachment case against him was a "baby" of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). Sen. Joker Arroyo was also quick to accuse President Arroyo of entering a secret deal with NPC chairman, businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, to oust Davide and protect Cojuangco’s interests in cases involving billions of pesos in exchange for support for her bid for a full six-year term in 2004.
Senator Arroyo said Speaker Jose de Venecia was among those behind the Davide impeachment. De Venecia, the senator said, allowed the second impeachment against the chief justice to prosper even if he could have done something to block it as the leader of the House.
When asked for proof, Arroyo merely said there was no need to present proof because "we were not born yesterday."
On the other hand, Davide’s accusers in the House said there was nothing political about the impeachment complaint and that nobody — not even the chief justice - should be above the law.
They found allies among disgruntled court employees who felt aggrieved when they were told that Davide and his son, Joseph Bryan Hilary, diverted funds for their allowances and used the money for luxurious projects for the justices.
It must be noted that not everyone was convinced that Davide was not guilty of the charges. The judiciary, as mandated by the Constitution, should enjoy fiscal autonomy and the Commission on Audit (COA) said the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) was properly disbursed. Since only the issue of the constitutionality of the second complaint was resolved, observers said the chief justice only won the first round, as the case against him could be revived by his "enemies," whom Davide described as "evil forces."
Though most legal experts said the impeachment was a political process that should be allowed by the Supreme Court to run its course, the tribunal set a precedent by assuming jurisdiction over the case. The tribunal decided on the constitutionality of the second impeachment complaint even if the case had not yet been transmitted to the Senate, they said.
In the face of so many serious allegations against government officials, Davide admitted in one of his speeches that "rightly has it been observed that we have developed a culture of cynicism... the bad habit of distrusting our government, our institutions and ourselves."
A manifestation of this statement was shown in a recent survey that indicated that the popularity ratings of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government and its members plunged because of the impeachment fiasco.
Davide said he had to "wage war" against those pushing for his ouster from the tribunal for the sake of the judiciary, the last bulwark of democracy and the guardian of the rule of law.
Without public confidence in the dispensation of justice, Davide warned of chaos and military adventurism.
Partisan Politics?
Before the impeachment against Davide broke out in October, he and seven other justices were also the subjects of an impeachment complaint filed in June.
The impeachment complaint contested the Supreme Court’s decision to install then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the helm of government, replacing President Joseph Estrada on Jan. 20, 2001, following a popular revolt now known as EDSA II.
Estrada and his lawyer, former senator Rene Saguisag, accused the justices of playing partisan politics in swearing Mrs. Arroyo in.
Estrada and Saguisag said Davide and SC Justice Artemio Panganiban initiated the ruling after being "inspired" by Biblical passages. They said Panganiban himself provided the evidence in his book, "Reforming the Judiciary."
Besides Davide and Panganiban, Estrada and Saguisag sought the removal of high SC Justices Josue Bellosillo (now retired), Antonio Carpio, Renato Corona, Reynato Puno, Leonardo Quisumbing and Jose Vitug.
Not included in the complaint were perceived pro-Estrada Justices Santiago Kapunan (now retired), Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez and Consuelo Ynares-Santiago. These three were among the 13 justices who recognized the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration in 2001.
Saguisag accused the eight SC magistrates of "culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust," which were impeachable offenses. This impeachment complaint, however, did not prosper.
Davide and Bellosillo defended the SC decision, saying it was for the country and people and that it sought to prevent violence and bloodshed, protect democracy and preserve the rule of law.
While they escaped this first impeachment, the second impeachment case against Davide gained the required number of votes to allow the transmittal of the complaint to the Senate.
Funeral Wreath
After the tribunal ordered the reopening of the Kuratong Baleleng case against Sen. Panfilo Lacson and 33 others in April, Lacson was quick to retaliate and said he was being persecuted politically by the administration.
Lacson said the administration was using its influence over the Supreme Court to push for the reopening of the multiple murder case in which he was named as the principal accused.
A day before the court decision was released, Lacson announced he is no longer backing out of the presidential race — apparently to prove that he is, indeed, a victim of political persecution.
In September, Callejo — the justice who penned the decision reopening the Kuratong Baleleng case — received a death threat in the form of funeral wreath delivered to his residence in Quezon City.
The wreath had a ribbon with this message: "Condolence to Justice Callejo."
In October, the Court ruled with finality that the case was not yet covered by the two-year proscription and should be revived.
The high court had the Kuratong Baleleng case re-raffled, but it again went to Branch 81 of the Quezon City Regional Court, under Judge Theresa Yadao.
While some were expecting the arrest of Lacson and his co-accused, Yadao dismissed the case for lack of probable cause.
The prosecution has filed an appeal as well as an administrative case against Yadao.
‘Popular’ But Bad For Business?
The Supreme Court also came out this year with "popular decisions" that were, nonetheless, considered by some in the business sector as counterproductive intervention. Nullifying contracts entered into by private and government parties, they said, also gave bad signals to investors both here and abroad.
In April, the SC’s Third Division upheld its Nov. 15, 2002 ruling compelling the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund the P28.15 billion excess charges it billed its customers since February 1994.
The court denied with finality Meralco’s motion for reconsideration, saying "it is the imperative duty of the State to interpose its protective power whenever too much profits become the priority of public utilities."
The court also nullified in May the government contracts of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) consortium that built Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA-3).
The tribunal ruled that Piatco was not qualified to participate in the 1997 bidding for the construction and operation of NAIA-3 in the first place and that awarding the contracts to the consortium was against public interest. The high court also questioned certain provisions in the contract, some of which put the government "virtually at the mercy of Piatco."
In May, the tribunal denied with finality the appeal of the Ital-Thai developer Amari Coastal Bay Development Authority over the multibillion-peso land reclamation deal that was once derided by government officials as the "mother of all scams."
The high court affirmed its July 9, 2002 decision that the land deal on and around Freedom Island in Manila Bay was null and void because it was unconstitutional ab initio (from the beginning).
Justice Carpio, who also wrote the original decision last year, debunked Amari’s new argument that the high court could not retroactively nullify the joint venture agreement (JVA) covering the controversial land deal.
In November, the high court junked Amari’s second motion for reconsideration for being a prohibited pleading and ruled that it could not recover the nearly P2 billion in "bribe money" Amari spent to get the contract.
Incidentally, the Court of Appeals (CA) in August suspended Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Rafael Buenaventura, Deputy Gov. Alberto Reyes, BSP officials Maria Dolores Yuvienco and Candon Guerrero and retired director Tomas Aure for closing down the Urban Bank of the Philippines in 2000.
The BSP officials assailed the decision, saying it was an intrusion into the management of the country’s banking system and should be set aside.
In its decision, the appellate court reversed a ruling by the Office of the Ombudsman and found Buenaventura and the other officials administratively liable for gross neglect of duty.
The CA said BSP should have exercised due diligence in accordance with the procedure on ordering the closure of banks as outlined in the New Central Bank Act of 1993.
Forfeiting Ill-Gotten Wealth
The Supreme Court awarded to the Philippine government in July the frozen Swiss bank deposits of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Marcos wealth was estimated at $658 million as of Jan. 31, 2002.
The funds have been held in escrow by the Philippine National Bank (PNB) after a Swiss court transferred the Marcos deposits in 1999, then only $570 million, pending final resolution on the ownership of the funds.
The SC said the money, plus interest, should be forfeited in favor of the government in accordance with Section 6 of Republic Act 1379, which states that "whenever any public officer has acquired during his incumbency an amount or property manifestly out of proportion to his salary, the said property should be presumed to have been unlawfully acquired."
In November, the SC threw out the motions for reconsideration filed by the Marcos family and junked the "global freeze order" on the Marcos assets issued on Sept. 2 by United States Judge Manuel Real of the Hawaii District Court.
The tribunal said it was a "transgression not only of the principle of territoriality in public international law but also of the jurisdiction of this court recognized by the parties-in-interest and the Swiss government itself."
Also in September, a German bank in Singapore, which is holding a portion of the Swiss accounts, said it would not release the money until a Singapore court determined its proper disposition due to different claims made by various parties.
The Singapore branch of WestLB AG said in a letter to PNB dated Sept. 17 that it "has received multiple claims to certain deposits currently being held at the Singapore branch" in PNB’s name.
These and another claim of a Swiss lawyer, Patrick Foetish, that several foundations and not the Marcoses owned the Swiss accounts, were disregarded by the court. Government lawyers said they were obviously part of the Marcoses’ scheme to hold on to the money.
Bar Leak
While the other controversies raged, a leak in the Bar compromised one of the exam’s subjects.
At first, the Supreme Court wanted the more than 5,000 Bar examinees to retake the test segment on mercantile law due to the leak.
It later decided against a retest due to the inconvenience it would cause the examinees.
Vitug, chairman of this year’s Bar, said the mercantile law examination given to examinees should be nullified to "preserve the integrity and protect the sanctity" of the Bar results.
He said the examiner’s computer must have been hacked or his files illegally accessed. He said 70 to 75 percent of the questions prepared by the examiner were used in the mercantile law examinations. The leak was so huge that the entire exam had to be voided.
The court formed a panel to investigate the leak, but the probe results have yet to be known.
Other Decisions
In July, the high tribunal upheld a provision in the absentee voting law allowing Filipino immigrants and permanent residents abroad to vote in the 2004 national elections if they fulfilled certain conditions.
In August, it asked the government and military to produce before the CA the leaders of the failed July 27 mutiny and conduct a hearing on a petition for habeas corpus and the alleged violation of the failed coup leaders’ constitutional rights.
The leaders of the failed July 27 mutiny in Makati City are: Marine Captains Gary Alejano and Nicanor Faeldon, Army Capts. Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo and Navy Lts. (s.g.) James Layug and Antonio Trillanes IV.
Did Justice Prevail?
Allegations of corruption, political partisanship and undue intervention could probably not be avoided by the members of the judiciary as it would have to decide on cases with wide-ranging implications.
With regard to the Davide impeachment crisis, the chief justice did, indeed, receive much more public support than his perceived tormentors — former President Corazon Aquino even led rallies to support Davide.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and De Venecia, as leaders of Congress, both expressed respect for the SC decision declaring the second impeachment complaint against Davide unconstitutional on Nov. 10.
Members of the House voted up to the wee hours of Nov. 11 to recognize the high court ruling, with the votes finally tallied at 115 to 77 for the junking of the impeachment complaint.
The House decision prevented the onset of a full-blown constitutional crisis in the wake of the unexpected status quo order issued by the SC to Congress on Oct. 29.
The status quo order was met with heavy criticism by both chambers of Congress as a violation of the separation of powers between the co-equal branches of government.
The order effectively stopped the House from transmitting the second impeachment complaint against Davide and paved the way for oral arguments on the matter.
The oral arguments on the second impeachment complaint against Davide saw the participation of eight amici curiae (friends of the court): retired SC justices Florenz Regalado and Hugo Gutierrez, Ateneo Law School dean Fr. Joaquin Bernas, Court of Appeals Associate Justice Regalado Maambong, former Senate president Jovito Salonga, former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza, and deans Pacifico Agabin and Raul Pangalangan of the University of the Philippines’ College of Law.
Five of the amici curiae asked the SC to refrain from ruling on the case until the articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate — the end of that particular political process — even if the five said they believed the complaint was unconstitutional.
Critics of the high court said it was a hometown decision and should not have been done, if only to show delicadeza, even if Davide did not participate in the ruling. These same critics said all the justices are impeachable officials.
At the end of the day, Davide said there was a democratic institution that figured prominently once more in this latest brouhaha: An enlightened and vigilant public.
Davide vowed to continue instituting reforms in the judiciary, the weakest branch of government, to keep it worthy of the public trust.
"I want to believe that when priests, religious, leaders of lay organizations, civic organizers, students and ordinary citizens took to the streets to express support for me, they were rising in defense of the judiciary and making clear their stand," he said.
"They were asserting their right to be judged by courts that can, with the majesty allowed them by their adherence to law, ignore power and privilege, position and clout, (and) render judgment solely as laws ordain," Davide said.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2003
by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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