While there has been much talk about a final showdown between the Aquino administration and the Corona Court, I was shocked to hear from BBC yesterday that the Congress actually impeached Chief Justice Corona. Just a few hours before I had read an article in which Corona talked of a secret conspiracy to oust him. Normally I’d have dismissed such talk, but at this point I’ve really got to wonder what the Aquino administration is thinking. The Philippines Supreme Court has been relatively independent since the EDSA. It has waded into a variety of politically charged questions, including term limits for President Ramos, the legality of EDSA II, and extrajudicial killings. The impeachment against Corona is the first time a Philippine justice has been impeached on blatantly political grounds. Even the impeachment against Davide nominally focused on the Court’s alleged misappropriation of funds. Sadly, even if the Senate refuses to convict Corona the whole imbroglio might make Philippine justices think twice about taking on political cases.
Category Archives: Supreme Court
More fighting words
On Monday, President Aquino attended a justice cooperation summit with many of the serving Supreme Court justices. Usually, these are rather formal and stiff affairs. However, Aquino gave a speech lambasting Chief Justice Corona for ruling against the administration and being beholden to Arroyo.
Of course Aquino had criticized the justice before, but this particular speech was shocking for its directness and confrontation with the justices in the same room. Several constitutional law experts have attacked Aquino for his “tirade,” one going so far as to compare him to Fidel Castro.
For his part, Corona confirmed that he is not resigning. He has rarely participated in the “debate” directly, but rather spoken through Supreme Court Spokesman Midas Marquez. On Tuesday, Marquez stated that, “It is just unfortunate that the Chief Justice was appointed by someone that many do not like. Now they are attacking him. It’s not his fault.”
It’ll be interesting to see what polls say about Aquino’s attacks on the judiciary. I haven’t been in the country in a while so I unfortunately don’t have a sense on the ground.
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Filed under Aquino, Philippines, Supreme Court
Updates on the Arroyo imbroglio
Apologies for not writing more about the current imbroglio with former Philippine president Arroyo and the Supreme Court. This is easily one of the biggest tests of the court’s independence over the past decade. News coverage has been wall-to-wall in the Philippines of course. Here are some excepts from an Asia Times piece – I’ll write more when I can:
The DoJ justified its move on the legal argument it had not yet received the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order when Arroyo arrived at the airport. The Supreme Court has since suggested it could file contempt charges against DoJ Secretary Leila de Lima, while pro-Arroyo attorneys are seeking de Lima’s disbarment for apparently flouting the Supreme Court’s decision.
…
In the court of public opinion, however, sentiment seems to be on Aquino’s side. Opinion polls show that both Arroyo and the Supreme Court are unpopular and suffer from credibility issues in the public eye. “It is no less corrupt than the rest of the Philippine judicial system,” quipped Pacific Strategies and Assessments, a risk analysis firm, in recent reference to the Supreme Court’s apparent role in protecting Arroyo from prosecution.While the Supreme Court insists its decisions are consistent with the letter of the law, its record when ruling on cases involving the Arroyos has been overwhelmingly in the former first couple’s favor. Chief Justice Corona has voted 19 times in favor of the Arroyos and never in dissent since taking over the Supreme Court’s leadership. Two senators and a number of prominent individuals have recently asked Corona to inhibit himself from any future deliberations involving Arroyo to concerns of his impartiality.
The Supreme Court is currently holding oral arguments on petitions filed on the constitutionality of the DOJ-Commission on Elections (Comelec) joint panel, which recommended Arroyo’s prosecution for alleged electoral fraud in 2007. Based on that recommendation, an arrest warrant was issued by the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge against Arroyo, which puts to rest for now the question of whether she should be allowed to travel abroad.
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Filed under Philippines, Supreme Court
Hell no, she can’t go
Despite the Supreme Court’s TRO yesterday regarding the WLO against former President Arroyo, the administration physically prevented them from catching their flight out of Manila yesterday. In a dramatic scene, the former president was wheeled away from their flight into a room with their lawyers. There are already calls to impeach Aquino over this and other recent decisions. All that’s certain for now is that the Aquino administration has set itself up for an even more intense showdown with the Supreme Court.
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Filed under Aquino, Arroyo, Philippines, Supreme Court
Political insurance or human rights?
According to PhilStar, in an 8-5 vote, the Philippine Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) watchlist order (WLO) against former President and current Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As I mentioned last week, cynics might suspect the justices of simply protecting their patron. However, freedom travel is an human right protected by the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (remember the refusniks in the former U.S.S.R.).
For politicians, this dual nature of the justice system presents a delightful irony. The very way courts act to protect former political leaders necessitates their invoking constitutional rights. Thus, the very political leaders who often violated their citizens’ human rights become amongst the first to hide behind them when out of power. In political science, we’d call this a severe case of observational equivalence – when we can’t tell whether the court is acting in good faith or with political motives.
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Filed under Arroyo, Philippines, political insurance, Supreme Court
Dominic J. Nardi, Jr. 
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