LP solon eyes impeach raps vs SC justices
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali: ‘Judicial despots’
MANILA, Philippines—Some members of the House of Representatives are bent on taking on the Supreme Court for the supposed tyranny of its justices.
A prosecutor in the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona is intent on filing an impeachment case against certain magistrates for their “despotism,” as evidenced, he said, by their decision declaring the lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, as unconstitutional, and for disqualifying Regina Reyes as Marinduque representative.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, on Thursday said he was working on gathering the support of one-third of his 289 colleagues, the number needed to initiate an impeachment complaint.
Umali, however, declined to identify the justices he was referring to.
Consensus
“I want to get the consensus of the House. The more appropriate time to file it is when I get a consensus,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.
“When I file it, I will make sure I have 99 [supporters],” he added.
He believes he will get his colleagues’ support, as many are angry over the high court’s decisions, particularly the one that declared the pork barrel, a source of kickbacks for some legislators, unlawful.
In an earlier privilege speech, Umali scored the Supreme Court for its “despotism,” criticizing its flip-flopping on the PDAF issue and its inconsistent ruling in Reyes’ case.
He warned of “judicial despots” in the court, who he said had violated the fundamental principles of law and jurisprudence and established doctrines.
He noted that before declaring the PDAF unconstitutional, the court had upheld it in an earlier case. He also slammed the court for ordering the prosecution of those involved in the misuse of their pork barrel, saying that this was a usurpation of the executive branch’s power.
He likewise lambasted the tribunal for upholding Reyes’ disqualification for failing to renounce her American citizenship. He said the high court, in previous decisions, had ruled that once a candidate had been proclaimed, it was the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and not the Commission on Elections that had jurisdiction over disputes arising from his or her election and qualifications.
