No basis to impeach SC justices over pork, lawmaker’s disqualification – lawyer
MANILA, Philippines — The threat to impeach certain Supreme Court justices over two recent controversial actions they took would not likely prosper for lack of legal or constitutional basis, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said on Sunday.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal: Nothing good coming out from SKs INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Macalintal was referring to threats made by some lawmakers to impeach some justices for alleged betrayal of public trust over their decision not only to declare all previous and pork barrel funds in Congress as unconstitutional but also to disqualify Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes for failing to give up her American citizenship.
The high court made the landmark decision abolishing the pork barrel or the priority development assistance fund in November while it affirmed the Commission on Elections’ ruling disqualifying Reyes as a candidate in the May 2013 elections last week.
In a statement, Macalintal said the justices could not be charged with betrayal of public trust for siding with the people who have been opposing the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
“On the contrary, the lawmakers were the ones who betrayed the public trust when, since time immemorial, they wittingly or unwittingly allowed the misappropriation or mishandling of the public funds under PDAF or the so-called pork barrel funds,” Macalintal said.
He said the high court “merely sustained the valid and meritorious complaint of the public against the illegal intervention or participation of the lawmakers in the various stages of the implementation of the projects funded under the PDAF.”
Macalintal also said there was no legal basis to impeach the justices for sustaining the decision of the Commission on Elections to disqualify Reyes in the May 2013 elections.
He said that Reyes lost her case with the high court where she challenged the Comelec decision.
Macalintal said lawmakers were defying the high court ruling and usurping the powers of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) because Reyes did not take her case before HRET. There was also no pending case of Reyes before the high court — in reference to Reyes’ earlier move to withdraw her case there.
“No HRET decision pertaining to Reyes case has been reviewed and reversed by the Supreme Court, hence, there is clearly no basis to impeach the justices on the Reyes case,” he said.
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