Friday, April 4, 2014

Call for sobriety, respect and unconditional obedience to the rule of law.

Excerpt from the Privilege Speech of Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga, Jr., 4th District of Cavite, March 11, 2014:
Not to be overlooked is the undermining effect of the 
adverted recognition of the powers of the COMELEC, an 
independent, constitutionally-created body, to exercise 
direct control and supervision over a subordinate body. 
More importantly, the House, by its act, challenges the 
constitutionally rooted authority of the Supreme Court as the 
final arbiter of all legal issues and in the process, trifles with 
the system of checks and balances, as a corollary of a basic 
tenet of our government system—the separation of powers 
between and among the Legislative, Executive and Judicial 
branches of government. 
Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga, Jr., 4th District of Cavite

Whether or not we agree with this proposition, the 
Supreme Court is supreme, being entrusted exclusively with 
the judicial power to adjudicate with finality all justiciable 
disputes. No other department may pass upon its judgments 
or declare them unjust. Any lawyer worth his salt—and the 
House has its share of legal scholars—will tell us that the 
power of the Supreme Court lies in and is exercised through 
its decisions and pronouncements which, in appropriate 
cases, form part of the laws of the land; and because of 
this postulate, compliance with the High Court’s final and 
executory decisions cannot be made to depend on the option, 
or worse still, the whim of the parties.
The problem confronting the House and its leadership 
has simply ceased to be a controversy involving a contest or 
power struggle between the Supreme Court and this Chamber. 
It has evolved into the matter of safeguarding the majesty of 
the Constitution, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the 
preservation of the Republic. If we, elected Members of the 
House for political or personal consideration, were allowed 
to cross the line within which we are required by law to 
operate in the discharge of our office, then the law would be 
a farce, a pure jargon, without meaning at all. If we continue 
to defy the long and final Supreme Court decision, we would 
be in the process of inciting or fomenting disobedience to 
the Constitution. 
To think that each of us has sworn to defend it! So, are 
we willing to be a party to this disaster? Do we want to be 
remembered as the Congress which blatantly trampled on 
the rule of law? 
Former Chief  Justice Artemio V. Panganiban

Anyone may disagree with, even criticize as some of 
our distinguished colleagues have done, Supreme Court 
pronouncements, but we cannot take away that right from 
them. As former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban aptly 
wrote in his Phililppine Daily Inquirer article, and I quote:
 Criticize, yes; disobey, no. Rule of law. True; 
legislators have a right to disagree with the court. 
However, such right is not a license to disobey the 
court. 
 Indeed, we have all the right to disagree but 
not to disobey. This is especially true for litigants 
who seek interventions of the court. They cannot 
refuse to disobey on the guise that in their opinion, 
the court is wrong. 
 Yes, Congressmen may criticize, attack and 
bemoan. But I respectfully submit that under the rule 
of law, they are duty-bound to follow the decisions 
of the court whether they agree with these or not. 
As a Member of this august Chamber, I am concerned 
with the repercussions of the path we are taking. Now, this 
institution, a coequal and a co-independent body, is defying 
the High Court. Are we now sending a message, outrageous 
as it is, that it is not wrongful to disregard the Judiciary? How 
soon will it take before the Executive Department follows 
suit—a judicial determination of the unconstitutionality of 
a law or an executive order is being ignored, and the void 
law or executive order is still being implemented? Following 
the lead of this Chamber and the Executive Branch, the day 
will come when all losing litigants before the Supreme Court 
will just sit back and simply refuse to comply with each 
decision, thereby inviting a breakdown of peace and order and 
contempt for the law. May that day never come when anarchy 
reigns, when the stability of the government institutions is 
endangered and eventually, our democratic system and the 
Republic itself disintegrate. 
Let us not then turn a blind eye to the real issue on this 
matter and the constitutional crisis we are creating. The 
Supreme Court has spoken with finality. I appeal to the reason 
and sense of fair play of every Member in this honorable 
Chamber to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution. I 
urge everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to abide 
by the final decision of the Court and recognize Mr. Lord 
Allan Velasco as the legitimate Representative of the good 
people of the Lone District of Marinduque. It is simply the 
right thing to do. 
It is high time, as a matter of duty of a Filipino citizen, 
to sound the clarion call for total respect and obedience to 
the rule of law for the sake of our beloved country and the 
future of our fellow Filipinos.