Hearing on impeach raps vs SC justices starts tomorrow

The House committee on justice will begin hearings tomorrow on the impeachment complaint filed against eight Supreme Court justices, which could revive questions about the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration.

"(The legitimacy of the Arroyo administration is) the main issue, that’s why there is this impeachment complaint," Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said.

Dilangalen was one of the endorsers of the impeachment complaint filed before the House of Representatives by ousted President Joseph Estrada in June.

Dilangalen blamed the county’s political instability on questions about the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration.

These questions surrounding the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration, he said, would explain the spate of alleged destabilization plots against the government and invite military adventurism such as the failed July 27 mutiny mounted by the Magdalo group.

"That is why everybody, particularly some quarters in the military, (is) taking chances that they might succeed" at destabilizing the government, Dilangalen said.

Estrada filed the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and Associate Justices Artemio Panganiban, Josue Bellosillo, Reynato Puno, Jose Vitug, Leonardo Quisumbing, Antonio Carpio and Renato Corona.

The complaint excluded as respondents the three justices appointed by Estrada to the High Court: Santiago Kapunan, who is now retired; Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez. Kapunan, Santiago and Gutierrez were among the 13 SC justices who voted for the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration.

The impeachment complaint was endorsed by opposition lawmakers San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico and Dilangalen as required under the rules on impeachment.

Estrada said the respondent justices conspired to oust him. The bases of Estrada’s complaint were biblical passages quoted by Panganiban in his book "Reforming the Judiciary."

The ousted leader cited seven grounds as his bases for the impeachment complaint, including culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and high crimes.

The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) supports the full hearing of the complaint.

Tarlac Rep. Gilberto Teodoro, head of the NPC contingent in the House, dismissed suggestions that the hearings on the impeachment complaint could cause political instability.

Teodoro said congressional inquiries do not cause instability. "As far as we (the NPC) are concerned, the legitimacy (of the Arroyo administration) is already settled. What this hearing aims to find out is whether the justices have done nothing improper." "It’s a fine distinction, but we must appreciate this distinction," he said.

While the NPC is allied with the administration, it could also provide swing votes that could lead to the impeachment of the eight SC justices listed in Estrada’s complaint.