Editorial
Courting anarchy
PHILIPPINE courts – from the regional branches to the Supreme Court – are not the most popular of institutions, as the judicial system is widely perceived to be slow, not always impartial and tilted towards the moneyed in dishing out justice. But it remains a fact that the judiciary is one of the main pillars of the country’s democracy, co-equal with the executive and legislative branches. Any conflict within or among these three could be settled through established legal means.
The President’s recent attacks on Chief Justice Renato Corona and the Supreme Court as a whole is totally uncalled for. To discredit the judiciary as an institution is dangerous. Democracy cannot be allowed to survive on the basis of personalities, i.e. PNoy being a popular president. To undermine the ascendancy of the Supreme Court is courting anarchy. Malacanang’s displeasure over the decisions and actions of the Supreme Court should be borne out in pleadings and formal reactions to events, not as a sweeping tirade against the court and its members. The issue against Corona should be tackled by an impeachment to be initiated by Congress as provided by law, not by a presidential speech.
To the Supreme Court’s credit, it is taking initiatives to speed up the wheels of justice and reach out to the communities as reflected by its “Justice on Wheels” project which was recently brought to Pangasinan. At the local level, Regional Trial Court Judge Ulysses Butuyan of Branch 51 in Tayug , has vowed to hold dialogues and consultation with all sectors, including the police, media, the academe and the communities.
Amid undying criticisms over corruption in many court salas, PNoy’s recent outburst is not helping rebuild a damaged institution like the judiciary.
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Palace Power
ON paper, they are co-equal: Malacanang, Supreme Court and Congress. President Aquino is now Malacanang, Renato Corona Supreme Court and both Juan Ponce Enrile and Sonny Belmonte Congress. But in reality, Malacanang is the most powerful of the three branches of government.
Consider: Mr. Aquino is Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; he has virtual control of the entire government machinery. One example: Mr. Aquino used his vise-like grip on the military and government factotums when he blocked Ate Glow’s attempt to fly out of the country a while back – even as the Supreme Court had allowed Ate Glow to leave.
On Monday, Mr. Aquino tore to shreds Corona’s character in public – with Corona himself in the audience. That was, by far, the most scathing attack unleashed yet by Mr. Aquino against the Chief Justice. The war rages on and on and on. God help us.
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