MANILA, Philippines—The Judiciary is not meddling with the affairs of its co-equal branch of government neither it is the most powerful branch of government, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said Thursday.
During the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum held Wednesday, Sereno dismissed the allegations of ‘judicial overreach’ by President Benigno Aquino III when the high court struck down as unconstitutional his pet economic stimulus project, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
This is the first time that Sereno responded to allegations of “judicial overreach.”
She said the high court has kept to the bounds of its powers under the Constitution.
“We have to act on the petitions that are brought before us…The Supreme Court is the interpreter of the Constitution. In fact, it is the guardian of the Constitution.”
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
“Looking at the Constitution closely, it already specifies in some areas its philosophy on what the State should do sometimes in social justices questions, in economic policy questions, human rights questions, in accountability questions,” Sereno said.
Sereno emphasized the danger if the magistrates do not interpret and implement the Constitution as it is drafted.
“[We] will have a Court that is criticized for not stepping up and defending the rights of the people in accordance with existing Constitution,” she said.
She described the 1987 Constitution as very dynamic and written clearly.
She said if one would tell the court not to proceed “because it can lead to more complications for other branches, I think that is not the way how a court should function.”
Following Aquino’s allegation of ‘judicial overreach’ and meddling by the Supreme Court, he voiced support to amend the 1987 Constitution to clip the powers of the judiciary.
Sereno, however, opted not to respond on questions about constitutional amendment, saying that is already a political question.
In disputing that the Judiciary is more powerful than the legislative and executive branches of government, she said there are many things that the high court cannot do.
“In the ordinary lives, we cannot assist the health requirements of the people. We cannot even help when a robber is running away. We do not have law enforcement ability. We do not have the power of the purse. We cannot dispense and run a social program but the Executive Department can. So, if we are going to talk about the ordinary Filipino and whether we can reach [them] to address [their] needs, we cannot do that. So, maybe, what is needed right now is the definition of the thinking that the Judiciary is powerful,” Sereno said.
Originally posted: 4:59 pm | Thursday, October 16th, 2014
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