Crazy Impeachment

Veteran journalist Paulynn P. Sicam writes about Danding's motivations in having the Chief Justice impeached by the Boss' s partymates. This is classic Paulynn P Sicam and thanks to her I am able to recover from Rene Saguisag's piece blogged earlier. Ms. Sicam concludes,

"On TV Monday night, Teodoro said that, as a lawyer, he didn’t need the share of troubles the impeachment of the Chief Justice would invite, but, he explained piously with his now-famous quote, “No one is above the law”. Except perhaps the lawmakers, and one rich, cynical, manipulative uncle."

Full story below.
By hook, then by crook

Former senator and Today columnist, Rene Saguisag writes that the impeachment complaint is really all about public accountability. If Davide refuses to account for the JDF with Congress, then he should at least account for it to the court employees. The article made me really laugh and, should I say, nudged me a little over to the other side of the impeachment spectrum.

Full story here.

One of the nation's biggest names in the legal profession, lawyer Mario Ongkiko, has been tapped by the House of Representatives to represent it before the Supreme Court in the petitions to the stop the impeachment. According to ABSCBN, Ongkiko will work with the five-man House legal team composed of NPC Rep. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. of Tarlac, Lakas Rep. Arthur Defensor of Iloilo, Promdi Rep. Clavel Martinez of Cebu, Laban Rep. Rolex Suplico of Iloilo and Leonardo Palicte, head of the chamber’s legal division. Full story below.

ABS-CBNNEWS.COM

How big is Mario Ongkiko's name in the legal profession? I made a list in January 2003 of the Ten Best Lawyers of the Philippines. The list is mixture of trial and corporate lawyers whom I have seen in action. The list can be found here. I rated him as number 4 behind Estelito Mendoza, Prospero Crescini, and the trio Carpio, Villaraza and Cruz. But as I said before, Ongkiko is the best trial lawyer in this country. Boy, the House is really going to war.

Finally, a big mind speaks. Senator Joker Arroyo says that ultimatly the Supreme Court has the final say in the impeachment crisis. The Inquirer quotes him as follows: "What is the lesson to be learned? That the autocratic Marcos, despite martial law powers and the army behind him, wisely allowed the Supreme
Court to exercise its jurisdiction because he knew full well that a damaged and humiliated Supreme Court would not be good for (the) country and the martial law image," Arroyo said. Full story here.

Arroyo: SC 'only arbiter' ... - Oct. 30, 2003

It just crossed my mind, Erap hates Davide so much because Erap appointed Davide as Chief Justice, yet Davide was the same man who removed Erap from office and validated the action in Estrada v. Arroyo. Davide owes Erap big time.

Danding is a good friend of Erap who re-installed Danding in San Miguel in the division of political spoils after the 1998 presidential elections. Sure, Danding has some beef with Davide but Danding's legal clout has got him sufficiently covered. But the boss might be looking for ways to payback Erap's favor.

Unfortunately, the first impeachment complaint against Davide filed by former Senator Saguisag was uncompromising and therefore was shot down. But voila, the JDF issue is politically neutral so all of a sudden, Danding's congressmen sprung it from the committee level to the plenary. Endgame: Davide is going to be impeached.

Question: Where is Erap?

Answer: He's in Asian Hospital, a luxury hotel more than a hospital, probably sleeping well, occassionally grinning from ear to ear and muttering, "He, he, ganti-ganti lang."

Think about it. You read it here first.

The Inquirer reports that the House, regardless of what the Supreme Court does in the petitions against the impeachment, will transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Full story below.

Impeachment rap to be transmitted on Nov. 10 - Oct. 30, 2003

More details are provided in this Tribune story.


As we had stated earlier, if the House continues with its decision to defy the Supreme Court, we might be looking at a grand contempt proceeding where the Speaker of the House and all the defiant members of the House will face arrest warrants from the Supreme Court. In enforcing the arrest warrants, the Supreme Court may have to ask the help of the police force and the martial law veterans in the House may re-live their days in jail. It is going to be very very ugly.

The Inquirer reports that Senate President Drilon is ready to file the Senate's Comment to the Petitions in the Supreme Court. The Comment essentially states that the Senate should not be made a party to the proceedings yet because it has not yet received the Articles of Impeachment. Accordingly, involving them now is premature. Full story below.
Drilon set to file manifesto ... - Oct. 29, 2003

The Inquirer reports that House leaders asked the President to call a special session to tackle the Davide Impeachment and other pressing issues. Senate President Drilon, however, rejected the idea because the House might use the opportunity to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate in open defiance of the status quo order of the Supreme Court. Full story below.

Congress asks President ... - Oct. 29, 2003

It's still a deadlock today with the issue shifting to the propriety of the issuance of the status quo order by the Supreme Court against a co-equal branch of government.

Suggestion to the coconuts in congress and their lawyers who are defying the status quo order on the impeachment: REVIEW YOUR BASIC TEXT ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.

And if you do read, please highlight these lines in the discussion of Marbury v. Madison (1803),

"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each."

— Chief Justice John Marshall

Check the code. The Constitution says,


ARTICLE VIII
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.

Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.

Full history and background of Marbury v. Madison may be found here.

Darn where did you guys study your law? That's what you get for feeding on the starving copra farmers of this country.

SENATOR PIMENTEL THINKS IMPEACHMENT IS SOLELY THE PROVINCE OF CONGRESS

In an interview with DZMM reporters, Senator Pimentel stated that the "status quo" order of the Supreme Court violated the Constitution because the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to resolve any question on the impeachment which is solely a congressional matter.

Transcripts of the interview can be found here.

UPDATE: Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin explains the concept of judicial review in this article from Today newspaper.

Political writer Herman Tiu Laurel of the Tribune points out that Justice Davide's son, Joseph Brian Hilary Davide, and his appointment as co-chair of the Bids and Awards Committee of the Supreme Court presents a clear case of conflict of interest which is the least to be expected from the Chief Justice. Full story below.

JDF: Justice Davide Fund

The Supreme Court Spokesman Ismael Khan defends Davide's son in this article from the Inquirer.

Amando Doronila, one of the best political journalists of the country, paints the current state of the nation in this article from the Inquirer. Access story below.

Nation walks on knife's edge - Oct. 29, 2003

Now, we have a real constitutional crisis. ABS-CBNNEWS reports that the leaders of the House will ignore the status quo order issued by the Supreme Court to both houses of Congress. Full story below.

Solons snub SC order

This is not good. If the solons remain defiant, the Supreme Court will eventually have no choice but to cite them in contempt and jail them. But will the Supreme Court have the support of the police in serving the arrest warrants against the leaders of the House? The endgame is clearly not going to be pleasant.

The Inquirer reports that the Senate adjourned early this evening without receiving the Articles of Impeachment from the House. Full story below.
Senate adjourns without ... - Oct. 28, 2003

Meanwhile, Speaker de Venecia has still not delivered on his promised win-win solution to the conflict.

The Inquirer reports that the Supreme Court ordered the House of Representatives to answer the petitions filed lawyers to stop the second impeachment complaint against Davide and maintain the status quo. Full story below.
SC defers action on pleas ... - Oct. 28, 2003

The video is found here.

An interesting sidebar to this action is who will represent Congress in these cases. I surmise that it should be the Solicitor General who is the general counsel of the Government. But the Solicitor General is under the office of the Department of Justice which acts as the alter ego of the President. And if the President is against the impeachment, then the Solicitor General has no choice but to share the view of the Petitioners! Assuming special counsels of the House are appointed, still the House leadership is also against the impeachment. So who will defend the case for the 90 or so lawmakers who signed the impeachment? Thus, it seems, these lawmakers will need special counsels to represent them in these actions. Of course, King Crony's San Miguel Corporation and its bevy of retainers can do the job.

Question: Does the status quo order violate the Doctrine of Separation of Powers? Isn't the issue of the propriety of the filing of the second impeachment complaint entirely within the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives? What if the House leadership defies the status quo order? Can Speaker Joe De Venecia be cited in contempt (of course, he's only too happy about tis development as it buys him more time for his win-win solution.) This matter will take the spotlights in the next few days and will take us back into the beginnings of the American Constitution from which our Constitution was patterned. The classic case of Marbury v. Madison takes center stage. The case can be found here.

The Tribune reports that the efforts of the House Speaker Joe De Venecia to delay the impeachment might result in his ouster as sponsors of the impeachmnet complaint only grew more determined to pursue the impeachment against the Chief Justice. Full story below.


Delay moves harden House sponsors’ impeach resolve

Dean Jorge Bocobo, political and economic writer who writes a mean blog, offers several theories to explain why the King Crony and the Coconuts initiated (ah, there's that word again) the Crazy Impeachment against the Chief Justice. Full story here.

The Inquirer reports that six congressmen withdrew their signatures from the impeachment complaint. The six who changed their mind were Representatives Rozanno Rufino Biazon of Muntinlupa City, Edgar Erice of Caloocan City, JV Bautista of party-list group Sanlakas, Renato Magtubo of party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa [Workers’ Party], Mauricio Domogan of Baguio City, and Ernesto Nieva of Manila. Various reasons were cited for the withdrawal. Full story below.
6 congressmen change ... - Oct. 28, 2003

Inquirer columnist Neal Cruz discusses how a vague word "initiate" can spell the fate of the Chief Justice. He also quotes an interesting analysis from eminent election lawyer Romulo Makalintal. Full story below.

Davide's fate hinges on one word: 'initiate' - Oct. 28, 2003

Conrado de Quiros of the Inquirer theorizes that Malacanang may have had a hand in the impeachment move so Davide can be replaced by Antonio Carpio as Chief Justice. Full story below.

The best laid plots - Oct. 28, 2003

Mindanews compares the list of the Mindanao congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint of Estrada and Davide. Full story here.

The complete list of congressmen who signed the complaint is discussed in this article from newsflash.org.

Gilbert Teodoro, the nephew of Danding Coojuanco and a congressman from Tarlac, said in a radio interview with ABS-CBN reporters that the impeachment of the Chief Justice is non-negotiable and the House has no recourse but to transmit the complaint to the Senate. He also said that he is convinced that the Chief Justice did not use the money for himself but nonetheless committed technical malversation for not complying with the law on the use of the Judiciary Development Fund. The full story can be found here.

Speaker Joe de Venecia emerged tonight from the House session without the promised political solution to the impeachment crisis. Media reports earlier said that the congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint would consider withdrawing the complaint if the Supreme Court would allow its books of accounts to be investigated by the House. Dan Mariano of the Today newspaper said that this was brought about by the Supreme Court's stonewalling efforts on the congressional inquiry on the use of the Judiciary Development Fund. See Mr. Mariano's artlcle here. A more detailed discussion is found here.

Meanwhile, Malacanang has announced that it is openly opposing the impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice because of the damage that it could do to the country.

The peso closed at a very low of PHP 55.50 per dollar after trading between PHP 55.35 and PHP 55.55. The lowest ever was recorded at the height of the Estrada impeachment at PHP 55.75.

Finally, a lawyer Ernesto J. Francisco and three professors of law from the Ateneo Human Rights Center filed separate petitions before the Supreme Court to stop the second impeachment complaint on constitutional grounds. The petitioners from the Ateneo were Sedfrey Candelaria, associate dean of the Ateneo School of Law, Carlos Medina Jr., executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, and Henedina Razon-Abad, dean of the Ateneo School of Government.

The Court, however, reset the hearings of the petitions to Tuesday, the 28th.

I attended a hearing today at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court and put on a black arm band to signify my support for Davide. What do you know? Court staff smirked at me. According to one of them, they really think Davide should be impeached because their court allowances which are paid from the Judicial Development Fund were reduced during Davide's term.

Meanwhile, Judge Hilario Laqui, one of the strictest and most honest judges in Quezon City, announced that he was not conducting any hearing today as a gesture of support to the Chief Justice. He also solicited the lawyers' support for the rally to be held at 2pm at the Batasan today.

Dean Jorge Bocobo explains why the second impeachment complaint should prosper amidst the constitutional objection. Full story below.

That one-third rule of the minority - Oct. 27, 2003

Once and for all, the Sassy Lawyer explains what separation of powers means and how it operates under the Philippine Constitution. See story below.

A Sassy Lawyer in Philippine Suburbia: The Davide impeachment : Who is violating what?

Lakas operators appear to have succeeded over the weekend in convincing partymates to withdraw support to the impeachment complaint. House Speaker Joe De Venecia, however, describes the solution as a "win-win" solution. See story below. This means that in exchange for the dismissal or deferment of the complaint, something will stick, I guess to give the 86 coconut Congressmen who signed the complaint some measure of dignity.

Solution to crisis at ... - Oct. 27, 2003

EDSA forces are mobilizing to support the Chief Justice the Inquirer reports. Cory Aquino and Cardinal Sin will be in a rally at the Batasan at 2:00 pm this afternoon. See story below. Curiously, we don't expect Bayan Muna, Sanlakas, and other left leaning forces to be in this rally as the party-list representatives of these organizetions were among the signatories to the impeachment complaint.

Aquino, Sin defend Davide - Oct. 27, 2003

The Tribune reports that Speaker Joe De Venecia delayed the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment over the weekend to allow the Lakas operators to work on the withdrawal of the signatures of partymates who signed the complaint. Tribune also reports that Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II placed the impeachment complaint in the agenda in Monday's order of business. Full story here.

I think the endgame is going to happen sooner than expected. By having the Articles placed in the agenda, the House will debate on the propriety of transmitting the Articles to the Senate considering that it appears to be clearly violative of the one year rule under the Constitution. Thereafter, the Speaker will submit the issue for voting during which the Lakas majority will formally terminate this Crazy impeachment.

What King Crony needs to do now is to convince Malacanang to stay away from the congressman during the voting, while he does the rounds on other Lakas congressman to ensure that he gets the numbers on Monday. However, I think the President knows that public sentiment is clearly against this aberration and King Crony will have to ask for a compromise. In other words, this Crazy Impeachment might not even reach day one.

It's rather late for this, I think. But Davide made a press statement yesterday asking Congressmen not to allow themselves to be used to bring down the Supreme Court. Full story here.

TEXT MESSAGES CALLING FOR BOYCOTT OF SAN MIGUEL ETC. POUR

I have been receiving text messages asking for the boycott of San Miguel products and the wearing of black armbands as a gesture of support for the Chief Justice.

Public sentiment appears to be clearly against the impeachment. Whoever plotted this Crazy Impeachment move clearly did not do his homework. It's going to be EDSA 2 again in reverse.

1. Bautista, Jose Virgilio (SANLAKAS)
2. Magtubo, Renato (Partido Manggagawa)
3. Velardo, Rene (BUHAY)
4. Jalosjos-Carreon, Cecilia (Zamboanga Del Norte)
5. Aggabao, Giorgidi (Isabela)
6. Albano, Rodolfo (Isabela)
7. Cojuangco, Carlos (Negros Occidental)
8. Cojuangco, Mark (Pangasinan)
9. Cruz-Ducut, Zenaida (Pampanga)
10. Dangwa, Samuel (Benguet)
11. De Guzman, Del (Marikina)
12. Dilangalen, Didagen (Maguindanao w/ Cotabato City)
13. Estrella, Conrado (Pangasinan)
14. Falcon, Jesnar (Surigao Del Sur)
15. Fuentebella, Felix William (Camarines Sur)
16. Gatchalian, Sherwin (Valenzuela)
17. Ipong, Gregorio (North Cotabato)
18. Jaafar, Soraya (Tawi-Tawi)
19. Jaraula, Constantino (Cagayan De Oro City)
20. Joaquin, Uliran (Laguna)
21. Joson, Josefina (Nueva Ecija)
22. Lacson, Jose Carlos (Negros Occidental)
23. Lanot, Henry (Pasig City)
24. Lapus, Jesli (Tarlac)
25. Ledesma, Julio (Negros Occidental)
26. Libanan, Marcelino (Eastern Samar)
27. Lobregat, Celso (Zamboanga City)
28. Lopez, Ruy Elias (Davao City)
29. Nicolas, Reylina (Bulacan)
30. Nieva, Ernesto (Manila)
31. Ortega, Manuel (La Union)
32. Paras, Jacinto (Negros Occidental)
33. Pingoy, Arthur (South Cotabato)
34. Plaza, Rodolfo (Agusan Del Sur)
35. Villanueva, Emmanuel (CIBAC)
36. Ylagan, Perpetuo (Romblon)
37. Yumul-Hermida, Georgilu (Quezon)
38. Zamora, Ronaldo (San Juan)
39. Zubiri, Juan Miguel (Bukidnon)
40. Angara-Castillo, Bellaflor (Aurora)
41. Angping, Harry (Manila)
42. Antonino-Custodio, Darlene (South Cotabato and Gen. Santos City)
43. Aquino, Agapito (Makati)
44. Baculio, Augusto (Misamis Oriental)
45. Badelles, Alipio (Lanao del Norte)
46. Banaag, Leovigildo (Agusan Del Norte)
47. Barinaga, Roseller (Zamboanga Del Norte)
48. Bautista, Claude ( Davao Del Sur)
49. Duavit, Michael "Jack" (Rizal)
50. Durano, Joseph "Ace" (Cebu)
51. Dy III, Faustino "Bojie" (Isabela)
52. Erice, Edgar (Caloocan City)
53. Escudero, Francis (Sorsogon)
54. Espino, Amado (Pangasinan)
55. Espinosa, Edgar (Guimaras)
56. Bernardo-Lokin, Ma. Blanca Kim (CIBAC)
57. Bersamin, Luis (Abra)
58. Biazon, Rozzano Rufino (Muntinlupa City)
59. Bondoc, Juan Pablo (Pampanga)
60. Bulut, Elias ( Apayao)
61. Cagas, Douglas (Davao Del Sur)
62. Macarambon, Benasing (Lanao Del Sur)
63. Macias II, Emilio (Negros Oriental)
64. Marañon, Alfredo (Negros Occidental)
65. Mathay III, Ismael (Quezon City)
66. Mitra, Abraham (Palawan)
67. Montilla, Angelo (Sultan Kudarat)
68. Nepomuceno, Francis "Blue Boy" (Pampanga)
69. Remulla, Gilbert (Cavite)
70. Rodriguez, Isidro (Rizal)
71. Romualdo, Jurdin Jesus (Camiguin)
72. Salceda, Joey ( Albay)
73. Saludo, Aniceto (Southern Leyte)
74. Santiago, Joseph (Catanduanes)
75. Seachon, Fausto (Masbate)
76. Singson, Eric (Ilocos Sur)
77. Solis, Jose (Sorsogon)
78. Soon-Ruiz, Nerissa ( Cebu)
79. Suarez, Aleta ( Quezon)
80. Suplico, Rolex (Ilo-Ilo)
81. Sy-Alvarado, Wilhelmino (Bulacan)
82. Syjuco, Augusto (IloIlo)
83. Taganas-Layus, Celia (Cagayan)
84. Taliño-Santos, Emmylou (North Cotabato)
85. Teves, Herminio (Negros Oriental)
86. Teodoro, Gilbert (TARLAC)
87. Tulagan, Generoso (Pangasinan)
88. Umali, Aurelio (Nueva Ecija)

An updated list can be found here from the Inquirer website. Note: it's in pdf format.

I'm still puzzled. What has Hilario Davide done to Danding Cojuangco to incur the ire of the King Crony?Danding's Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) led by Danding's nephew Gilbert Teodoro did the rounds to secure each of the 80 or so congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint. That's a lot of work. A lot of favors have changed hands for this big feat. What is the core? What is the motivation? It cannot simply be vendetta. Danding, the boss, thinks like the Godfather -- no emotions, just business interests. It is of course silly to believe that Danding is concerned about the use of the judiciary fund -- although for the sheer number of Danding cases in court, he must have paid half of that in docket fees. The speculation is Davide must have received something from the Boss and failed to deliver the consideration. Is it possible that the coco levy decision did not go where it was paid to go? I cannot believe that it could be this bad. But Sun Tzu reminds me of the principle of dealing with a trapped enemy -- always make your enemy believe that there is a way out so he won't fight you with the utter power of desperation. Did the Chief Justice trap the Boss in a corner that the Boss simply had no way out? Is it possible that this is an act of desperation from the big Boss? Is Danding's San Miguel portfolio about to be snatched away from him by an impending Supreme Court decision? That is the only way I can possibly explain this. Perhaps, developments in the next few days will help us uncover the truth behind this crazy impeachment.

Ninez Cacho Olivares, Tribune publisher, summarizes the case for the prosecution in this article.

Solita Monsod, Inquirer columnist, summarizes the defense in this piece.

Oops, we did it again. We succeeded in sending an impeachment complaint from the House of Representatives to the Senate. Everything else is going to be set aside. This time, Hilario Davide, the Chief Justice of the Philippines, former presiding officer of the first ever impeachment court during the time of former president Estrada, is now the accused. The tables have turned. It's crazy. Have popcorn, will blog.