House forms panel to protect its integrity

The House of Representatives formed yesterday its legal panel to "defend and protect the political and territorial integrity" of the chamber and question the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over the impeachment of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.

Speaker Jose de Venecia said that while the House has tapped private lawyer Mario Ongkiko as its counsel, Ongkiko will be backed and assisted by Senior Deputy Majority Leader Arthur Defensor and Cebu Rep. Clavel Martinez, Tarlac Rep. Gilberto Teodoro and Deputy Minority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the House and the Senate to reply on Nov. 3 to the petition for certiorari on the impeachment complaint against Davide filed by private groups and some congressmen, and set the oral arguments for the case on Nov. 5.

A petition for certiorari seeks to establish the legitimacy of a given case. In the case of the Davide impeachment, the certiorari petition seeks to establish the constitutionality of the complaint filed against the chief justice, since it is the second such complaint against the chief magistrate within a one-year period.

Section 5 of Article XI of the 1987 Constitution states that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year."

De Venecia said that, technically, as leader of the House, he need not make an appearance on Nov. 5 before the Supreme Court.

"However, to show my respect to the High Court, I am sending our counsel (Ongkiko) to represent the House of Representatives as an institution," De Venecia said.

He also said there is an overwhelming sentiment in the House that, while they "all respect the authority of the Supreme Court to discharge its mandated duties, we hope that the court will likewise appreciate the task of those in the House to perform its constitutional mandate."

"We are for obedience to the law," he said. "We are for obeying the Constitution. There is no supreme branch in the government. Only the Constitution is supreme."

He said Ongkiko is a veteran lawyer who has distinguished himself with landmark cases over the past two decades.

The Speaker initiated last week negotiations for a "win-win" solution, supported by President Arroyo, to avert the constitutional crisis that may come as a result of Davide’s impeachment.

Unfortunately, he said, "hard-liners from both sides failed to agree."

De Venecia earlier told visiting Laos Chief Justice Khammy Sayavong that the House had defeated by an overwhelming vote the first impeachment complaint against Davide and seven associate justices of the Supreme Court, which was filed by ousted President Joseph Estrada last June 2.

The first impeachment complaint against Davide, he said, "was the bigger, more explosive, more dangerous impeachment complaint, since it involved more than half of the entire 15-man Supreme Court."

He also said the House has approved salary increases of up to 100 percent granted to justices and judges of the courts in a major move by Congress to professionalize their ranks and raise the quality of life for those who join the judiciary.

Suplico said the main argument of the House will revolve around the constitutional provision that grants the House the power to impeach public officials.

Batanes Rep. Florencio Abad, one of the legislators leading the campaign against the impeachment of Davide, said the House will only be questioning the status quo order of the Supreme Court and not the substance of the complaint.

He predicted that Nov. 5 will be confusing, since the House remains divided over whether the impeachment complaint is constitutional or not.

Davide was impeached Thursday last week after 88 congressmen signed the second impeachment complaint against Davide for allegedly misusing the P4 billion Judicial Development Fund — an accusation not supported by the Commission on Audit (COA), which ruled that the JDF was disbursed properly.

The first impeachment complaint was filed by ousted President Joseph Estrada through his lawyer former senator Rene Saguisag.

Estrada said last June that Davide and SC Associate Justices Artemio Panganiban, Josue Bellosillo, Reynato Puno, Jose Vitug, Leonardo Quisumbing, Antonio Carpio and Renato Corona committed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of the public trust and high crimes because of their conspiracy to remove him from office and install then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in January 2001. — Paolo Romero