House order vs CA justices ‘uncalled for,’ says law prof

FILE – Congressman Rodolfo Farinas gestures at the Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability hearing of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 as it investigates the involvemnet of six officials of Ilocos Norte in the allegedly anomalous purchase of vehicle worth P66.45 million. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

A law professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) on Monday said it was unnecessary for the House of Representatives to issue a show cause order against the Court of Appeals (CA) directing them to explain why they should not be cited in contempt.

In an interview with Radyo Inquirer Monday, law professor Arnold Bayobay said the show cause order was “uncalled for,” and that Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez should respect the appellate court’s mandate to grant the writ of the privilege of habeas corpus filed by the six Ilocos Norte government officials detained by the House for contempt.

Bayobay made the reaction after the House good government and public accountability committee unanimously voted to issue a show cause order for Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edwin Sorongon and Nina Antonino-Valenzuela to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for ordering the release of the detained officials.

READ: House panel issues show-cause order vs CA justices

“The show-cause order, for me, that’s uncalled for. If I were to advise these officials, the Speaker must comply with the writ of habeas corpus. The writ only orders the House to produce the live bodies of these six persons before the CA,” said Bayobay, who was shortlisted by the Judicial and Bar Council for the position of Ombudsman Special Prosecutor.

READ: 10 legal luminaries vie for Ombudsman special prosecutor post 

Instead of clashing, the lower House and the CA may even strike an “internal arrangement” for the CA to also respect the contempt powers of the lower House by not extending the writ and telling the officials that their detention is valid until they cooperate, Bayobay said.

“An internal arrangement [should] be made. Sabihin ng House (The House should say), the CA respect also the authority of the House of its contempt powers. Sabihin ng CA (The CA should say), there is a valid cause for your detention until you cooperate,” Bayobay said.

Bayobay said the CA should instead be contented with seeing the bodies of the detained officials in court, which would only be possible if the lower House would comply with the writ of habeas corpus.

READ: Speaker Alvarez advises judiciary to discipline 3 CA magistrates 

“The House should respect the writ, the CA should also respect the power of contempt by not extending the privilege,” Bayobay said.

Bayobay said the lower House cannot just compel the magistrates to explain why they should not be cited in contempt, adding that the order should go through the Supreme Court first.

“There is also separation. The House cannot just go down directly to the Court of Appeals,” Bayobay said, adding that it is the Supreme Court which would determine the regularity of the show-cause order.

Bayobay said in the end, the two bodies should meet halfway to prevent a looming clash between the legislature and the judiciary.

READ: House, judiciary showdown looms over ‘Ilocos Six’

“I think there must be a win-win [deal]. They must come with a midway [solution],” he said.

The lower House has insisted on its mandate to detain for contempt the provincial government officials who maintained they did not know of the transactions involving the alleged anomalous use of tobacco funds linked to Ilocos Norte governor Imee Marcos.

The House panel investigating the alleged funds misuse warned that Marcos may be ordered arrested if she continues to snub the probe.

READ: House committee may ‘do a Dayan’ on Imee if she snubs probe—solon 

It was majority leader Rudy Fariñas who filed House Resolution 882 calling for an investigation on the Ilocos Norte provincial government’s use of the excise taxes on locally-produced Virginia-type cigarettes which were allegedly misspent on minicabs, buses and minitrucks even though the law Republic Act 7171 that imposed the tax on Virginia cigarettes states that these should be used for livelihood projects and infrastructure projects benefiting the tobacco farmers.

READ: Speaker Alvarez threatens to dissolve Court of Appeals | Alvarez keeps local execs detained at House in defiance of CA order