Impeach suit vs SC justices backed

Administration lawmakers have expressed support for the impeachment complaint being prepared by Charter change advocates against the Supreme Court justices who voted to dismiss the petition for a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution.

Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis said many of his colleagues in the House of Representatives shared the same sentiment following what they consider the "biased" dismissal by the Supreme Court of the initiative petition last Oct. 25.

"I cannot run away from my duties… I will review the complaint (and) if it has basis, then I will endorse it," Solis said.

Solis, chairman of the committee on national defense at the House of Representatives, made the statement before the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel forum in noting the impeachment complaint being prepared by lawyers Elesio Ocampo and Ferdinand Topacio of the Sulong Foundation against the Supreme Court justices.

Both lawyers accused Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and Associate Justice Antonio Carpio of usurping the powers of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in dismissing the people’s initiative petition and denying the 6.3 million signatories of their right to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Sulong Bayan had urged Panganiban and Carpio to inhibit themselves in the deliberations over the motion for reconsideration filed by people’s initiative petitioners Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and Sigaw ng Bayan.

The two lawyers said they were left with no option but to initiate an impeachment complaint after their petition for inhibition was denied by the high court.

Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas and Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan claimed the SC magistrates were apparently "biased" against efforts to revive the people’s initiative petition.

In a joint statement, the lawmakers said Panganiban can no longer be objective, noting reports that the chief magistrate himself personally campaigned to junk the petition.

Carpio, on the other hand, was the author of the majority decision that ruled against the petition.

Libanan said the alleged campaign waged by Panganiban is already tantamount to influencing the independent decision of other justices.

"Every justice should be given a free hand to decide depending on what the law states," Libanan said.

Libanan also pointed out the harsh language used by Carpio in the SC ruling, particularly in describing the people’s initiative petition as a "grand deception."

"He (Carpio) questioned the integrity of the signature drive without providing adequate basis," Libanan said.

Cagas, for his part, claimed Panganiban must have been "too politically inclined" when he decided against the people’s initiative.

"He must have believed it was the popular thing to do because some sectors were against Charter change. He should have also considered the position of the 6.3 million Filipinos who signed the PI petition," he said.

Cagas claimed Carpio wrote the decision based on unfounded suppositions.

"I believe the (people’s initiative) petitioners were fully prepared to defend their petition and all they needed was to elaborate on the signature drive especially on how this was conducted to ease all misimpressions and doubts about it," he said.

Cagas said Panganiban and Carpio should have inhibited themselves so as to end speculations that they are biased against efforts of Charter change advocates to revive the petition.

Sigaw ng Bayan spokesman Raul Lambino, for his part, said they have nothing to do with the impeachment plans against the Supreme Court justices.

"We are not aware of such plan, it’s the prerogative of the Sulong ng Bayan," he said.

Lambino said they are more concerned with the motion for reconsideration in the hope that the Supreme Court will reverse its ruling rejecting the people’s initiative. -with Delon Porcalla