SC junks 2 petitions vs gov’t

The Arroyo administration scored two wins yesterday at the Supreme Court.

The tribunal dismissed a petition of two party mates of presidential aspirant Fernando Poe Jr. seeking to declare President Arroyo resigned or on official leave upon the filing of her certificate of candidacy.

In a six-page resolution, the Court en banc threw out the petition of Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) senatorial candidates Ma. Elisa "Boots" Anson-Roa and Amina Rasul-Bernardo for lack of jurisdiction and cause of action.

At the same time, the high tribunal junked the petition of Alyansa ng Pag-asa senatorial candidate Melanio "Batas" Mauricio seeking full disclosure of the revised compromise agreement between the government and Maynilad Water Services Inc.

The SC said that the Quezon City regional trial court Branch 90 has not yet issued any order prohibiting the public disclosure of the terms of the deal.

In the first case, the high tribunal said there was simply no basis under the Constitution or any law in the Philippines to compel the President to resign or go on leave because of her decision to run in an election.

The SC also cited its lack of jurisdiction over the petition insofar as it sought the removal of the President from her office and her replacement by Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr.

The SC said Section 4, Article 7 of the Constitution provides that "the President shall not be eligible for re-election. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time."

"President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not running for re-election, for she was not elected before. Neither does she fall under the prohibition againstc a person who has succeeded the President, for she shall not have served more than four years as such successor," the SC said in its resolution signed by acting clerk of court Maria Luisa Villarama.

"Our fundamental law allows her to run for president and remain President with all the concomitant powers and duties of that office," the resolution said.

Anson-Roa and Rasul also alleged that there was misuse of public funds to support the President’s campaign and included the executive secretary, the national treasurer and the chairman of the Commission on Audit as respondents. But the court said that it is not the proper forum to pursue such charges.

"It is the Commission on Elections that has the primary jurisdiction over alleged violations of election laws," the SC said.

Associate Justices Reynato Puno, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, however, voted against the dismissal of the petition, saying it raised constitutional issues that should be properly addressed and wanted the respondents, except the President and the Vice President, to comment on the petition.

The SC though did not find merit in the petition and junked it without even asking the respondents to submit their respective comments.

In the second case, Mauricio claimed that Quezon City Judge Reynaldo Daway, who presides over the Maynilad rehabilitation case, "effectively curtailed the public’s access to information concerning a vital provision which would directly affect them" when he refused to provide copies of the agreement to the public.

Daway argued though that while the copy of the agreement was limited to the concerned parties, the decision to make it public was left to the sound discretion of the parties.

Mrs. Arroyo’s official campaign spokesman Michael Defensor welcomed the SC decisions on behalf of the President and the K-4 ticket.

"We welcome the decision because this case represents the eight other cases filed against our President which are nothing but political harassment cases," Defensor said.

Nine disqualification cases have so far been filed against Mrs. Arroyo since the start of the campaign period.

Meanwhile, the President called on her opponents yesterday to join her in serving the people rather than spending their efforts on harassment suits against her.

"The election is not about me, it’s about the people. Let us join hands in serving and enlightening the people. Let us keep the campaign at a high plane and show a common respect for civility and democracy," she said.

In a statement, Mrs. Arroyo stressed that she will not fall into the "malicious trap" of the opposition and will continue to serve as President even as she is campaigning for a full six-year term.

"The opposition wants me to stop delivering clean water, stop me from building shelter for the people, from constructing classrooms in barangays and maintaining roads." she said. "Since when has public service become an electoral offense?"

In a separate statement, administration senatorial candidate Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who serves as the private legal counsel of the President, said she was elated over the decision of the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit filed by Anson-Roa and Rasul.

"Under the Constitution, the President can only be removed by impeachment. But the petition wanted the Supreme Court, without any constitutional basis, to remove the President. That is why the petition is unmeritorious," Santiago said.

Saddened by the court’s decision, the petitioners expressed apprehension that the high court’s ruling would be used as a carte blanche by Malacañang to further raid the national treasury.

"Whether or not the President has the right to splurge government funds during the campaign period remains a valid and compelling issue that should be resolved by the judiciary," Anson-Roa pointed out.

Rasul, on the other hand, said that the SC avoided the issue. "We can’t blame them. But we thank the three brave and patriotic justices who voted to hear our side. Sadly, they’re too few," she said.

The SC, Rasul added, has virtually given Mrs. Arroyo the license to use all government resources in ensuring her reelection this May.

The FPJ Lawyers for Good Governance (FLGG) was also disappointed over the ruling, saying that the court did not appreciate the nature and substance of the petition.

"The decision of the Supreme Court, we feel, has achieved nothing in terms of setting a valid and compelling issue. The Supreme Court has misread the petition, thereby skirting what we believe is its obligation to arbitrate constitutional conflicts," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, at the weekly Ciudad Fernandina forum in Greenhills, San Juan, administration senatorial candidate Pia Cayetano told reporters that graft and corruption is already an executive issue and should not only be discussed on the policy level.

She said there are already many laws against graft and corruption but there seems to be a lack of enforcement. The administration, she said, should be assertive in fighting graft. — With Marvin Sy, Marichu Villanueva, Mike Frialde