House panel okays impeachment complaint vs 8 SC justices

The impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr, and seven other magistrates was declared yesterday as "sufficient in form" by a majority of members of the House committee on justice.

Deliberations would have been reset for next Wednesday if Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc had not arrived to add his assent to the 34 other congressmen who had voted that the complaint is "sufficient in form."

A vote of at least 35 or a majority of the 69 members of the committee is needed for the complaint to pass the test of form sufficiency.

Ousted President Joseph Estrada said he welcomes the decision of a growing number of lawmakers to support the impeachment complaint that he had filed against Davide and Associate Justices Artemio Panganiban, Josue Bellosillo, Reynato Puno, Jose Vitug, Leonardo Quisumbing, Antonio Carpio and Renato Corona.

"My complaint is not about fighting the Supreme Court as an institution as claimed by the Chief Justice, but against the people there who have allowed themselves to become instruments for the persecution of this administration’s political enemies," Estrada said in a statement.

"While the process of cleansing the judiciary of its corrupt elements through the constitutional process of impeachment would still hurdle major obstacles, the stand of our congressmen finding merit in my complaint brings hope to our dispirited people that the fight for the restoration of their shattered confidence in our judicial system has started to gain adherents," he said.

Estrada said lawmakers should also consider the plight of court employees whose fiduciary fund, the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF), has been converted into the discretionary fund to finance the "lavish and scandalous whims and caprices" of Davide.

"The questionable disbursement of the JDF not only brought distress to thousands of court employees, but also showed that corruption has totally permeated the once august halls of the Supreme Court since I was unseated more than two years ago," he said.

However, lawyer Conrad Tolentino, director for public information at the Supreme Court, said the passage of the complaint in the first stage "only involved examination" of required documents.

"The passage in the first stage does not entail any cause of concern for anyone in the Supreme Court and in the public," he said.

"It’s part of the process of impeachment. We don’t foresee any serious problem in that stage."

Tolentino said the House committee on justice "only examined" if all the documents and attachments were complete.

"It’s only documentary, not evidentiary," he said. "There was no justification for charges."

Tolentino said the first stage finding sufficiency in form — has "no relation" to the second stage — finding sufficiency in substance.

"Personally I doubt if the (determination of sufficiency of substance) would cause concern because most probably that portion will fail," he said.

In filing the impeachment complaint through former senator Rene Saguisag, Estrada accused Davide and the seven other justices of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and high crimes, when they "conspired" to oust him and install Mrs. Arroyo to the presidency.

The complaint was endorsed by San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico, Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen and Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla.