Sieramon A.

Lacambra Political law one

AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
G.R. No. 160261. November 10, 2003.]
ERNESTO B. FRANCISCO, JR., petitioner, NAGMAMALASAKIT NA MGA MANANANGGOL NG MGA
MANGGAGAWANG PILIPINO, INC., ITS OFFICERS AND MEMBERS, petitioner-in-intervention,
WORLD WAR II VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-intervention,
vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPRESENTED BY SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, THE
SENATE, REPRESENTED BY SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN M. DRILON, REPRESENTATIVE
GILBERTO C. TEODORO, JR. AND REPRESENTATIVE FELIX WILLIAM B. FUENTEBELLA,
respondents, 1 JAIME N. SORIANO, respondent-in-intervention, SENATOR AQUILINO Q.
PIMENTEL, respondent-in-intervention.
[G.R. No. 160262. November 10, 2003.]
SEDFREY M. CANDELARIA, CARLOS P. MEDINA, JR. AND HENEDINA RAZON-ABAD, petitioners,
ATTYS. ROMULO B. MACALINTAL AND PETE QUIRINO QUADRA, petitioners-in-intervention,
WORLD WAR II VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-intervention,
vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THROUGH THE SPEAKER OR ACTING SPEAKER OR
PRESIDING OFFICER, SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, REPRESENTATIVE GILBERTO G. TEODORO,
JR., REPRESENTATIVE FELIX WILLIAM B. FUENTEBELLA, THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES,
THROUGH ITS PRESIDENT, SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN M. DRILON, respondents, JAIME N.
SORIANO, respondent-in-intervention, SENATOR AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, respondent-in-
intervention.
[G.R. No. 160263. November 10, 2003.]
ARTURO M. DE CASTRO AND SOLEDAD M. CAGAMPANG, petitioners, WORLD WAR II VETERANS
LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-intervention, vs. FRANKLIN M. DRILON, IN
HIS CAPACITY AS SENATE PRESIDENT, AND JOSE G. DE VENECIA, JR., IN HIS CAPACITY AS
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, respondents, JAIME N. SORIANO, respondent-
in-intervention, SENATOR AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, respondent-in-intervention.
[G.R. No. 160277. November 10, 2003.]
FRANCISCO I. CHAVEZ, petitioner, WORLD WAR II VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES,
INC., petitioner-in-intervention, vs. JOSE G. DE VENECIA, IN HIS CAPACITY AS SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FRANKLIN M. DRILON, IN HIS CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, GILBERT TEODORO, JR., FELIX WILLIAM
FUENTEBELLA, JULIO LEDESMA IV, HENRY LANOT, KIM BERNARDO-LOKIN, MARCELINO
LIBANAN, EMMYLOU TALIO-SANTOS, DOUGLAS CAGAS, SHERWIN GATCHALIAN, LUIS
BERSAMIN, JR., NERISSA SOON-RUIZ, ERNESTO NIEVA, EDGAR ERICE, ISMAEL MATHAY, SAMUEL
DANGWA, ALFREDO MARAON, JR., CECILIA CARREON-JALOSJOS, AGAPITO AQUINO, FAUSTO
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
SEACHON, JR., GEORGILU YUMUL-HERMIDA, JOSE CARLOS LACSON, MANUEL ORTEGA, ULIRAN
JUAQUIN, SORAYA JAAFAR, WILHELMINO SY-ALVARADO, CLAUDE BAUTISTA, DEL DE GUZMAN,
ZENAIDA CRUZ-DUCUT, AUGUSTO BACULIO, FAUSTINO DY III, AUGUSTO SYJUCO, ROZZANO
RUFINO BIAZON, LEOVIGILDO BANAAG, ERIC SINGSON, JACINTO PARAS, JOSE SOLIS, RENATO
MATUBO, HERMINO TEVES, AMADO ESPINO, JR., EMILIO MACIAS, ARTHUR PINGOY, JR.,
FRANCIS NEPOMUCENO, CONRADO ESTRELLA III, ELIAS BULUT, JR., JURDIN ROMUALDO, JUAN
PABLO BONDOC, GENEROSO TULAGAN, PERPETUO YLAGAN, MICHAEL DUAVIT, JOSEPH
DURANO, JESLI LAPUS, CARLOS COJUANGCO, GIORGIDI AGGABAO, FRANCIS ESCUDERRO, RENE
VELARDE, CELSO LOBREGAT, ALIPIO BADELLES, DIDAGEN DILANGALEN, ABRAHAM MITRA,
JOSEPH SANTIAGO, DARLENE ANTONIO-CUSTODIO, ALETA SUAREZ, RODOLFO PLAZA, JV
BAUTISTA, GREGORIO IPONG, GILBERT REMULLA, ROLEX SUPLICO, CELIA LAYUS, JUAN MIGUEL
ZUBIRI, BENASING MACARAMBON, JR., JOSEFINA JOSON, MARK COJUANGCO, MAURICIO
DOMOGAN, RONALDO ZAMORA, ANGELO MONTILLA, ROSELLER BARINAGA, JESNAR FALCON,
REYLINA NICOLAS, RODOLFO ALBANO, JOAQUIN CHIPECO, JR., AND RUY ELIAS LOPEZ,
respondents, JAIME N. SORIANO, respondent-in-intervention, SENATOR AQUILINO Q.
PIMENTEL, respondent-in-intervention.
[G.R. No. 160292. November 10, 2003.]
HERMINIO HARRY L. ROQUE, JR., JOEL RUIZ BUTUYAN, MA. CECILIA PAPA, NAPOLEON C. REYES,
ANTONIO H. ABAD, JR., ALFREDO C. LIGON, JOAN P. SERRANO AND GARY S. MALLARI,
petitioners, WORLD WAR II VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-
intervention, vs. HON. SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, JR. AND ROBERTO P. NAZARENO, IN HIS
CAPACITY AS SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, respondents, JAIME N. SORIANO, respondent-in-intervention, SENATOR
AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, respondent-in-intervention.
[G.R. No. 160295. November 10, 2003.]
SALACNIB F. BATERINA AND DEPUTY SPEAKER RAUL M. GONZALES, petitioners, WORLD WAR II
VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-intervention, vs. THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, THROUGH THE SPEAKER OR ACTING SPEAKER OR PRESIDING OFFICER,
SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, REPRESENTATIVE GILBERTO G. TEODORO, JR., REPRESENTATIVE
FELIX WILLIAM B. FUENTEBELLA, THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES, THROUGH ITS PRESIDENT,
SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN M. DRILON, respondents, JAIME N. SORIANO, respondent-in-
intervention, SENATOR AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, respondent-in-intervention.
[G.R. No. 160310. November 10, 2003.]
LEONILO R. ALFONSO, PETER ALVAREZ, SAMUEL DOCTOR, MELVIN MATIBAG, RAMON
MIQUIBAS, RODOLFO MAGSINO, EDUARDO MALASAGA, EDUARDO SARMIENTO, EDGARDO
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
NAOE, LEONARDO GARCIA, EDGARD SMITH, EMETERIO MENDIOLA, MARIO TOREJA,
GUILLERMO CASTASUS, NELSON A. LOYOLA, WILFREDO BELLO, JR., RONNIE TOQUILLO, KATE
ANN VITAL, ANGELITA Q. GUZMAN, MONICO PABLES, JR., JAIME BOAQUINA, LITA A. AQUINO,
MILA P. GABITO, JANETTE ARROYO, RIZALDY EMPIG, ERNA LAHUZ, HOMER CALIBAG, DR. BING
ARCE, SIMEON ARCE, JR., EL DELLE ARCE, WILLIE RIVERO, DANTE DIAZ, ALBERTO BUENAVISTA,
FAUSTO BUENAVISTA, EMILY SENERIS, ANNA CLARISSA LOYOLA, SALVACION LOYOLA, RAINIER
QUIROLGICO, JOSEPH LEANDRO LOYOLA, ANTONIO LIBREA, FILEMON SIBULO, MANUEL D.
COMIA, JULITO U. SOON, VIRGILIO LUSTRE, AND NOEL ISORENA, MAU RESTRIVERA, MAX
VILLAESTER, AND EDILBERTO GALLOR, petitioners, WORLD WAR II VETERANS LEGIONARIES OF
THE PHILIPPINES, INC., petitioner-in-intervention, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
REPRESENTED BY HON. SPEAKER JOSE C. DE VENECIA, JR., THE SENATE, REPRESENTED BY HON.
SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DRILON, HON. FELIX FUENTEBELLA, ET AL., respondents.
[G.R. No. 160318. November 10, 2003.]
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, INC., CRISPIN T. REYES, petitioners, vs. HON. SPEAKER JOSE G. DE
VENECIA, ALL MEMBERS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, HON. SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN M.
DRILON, AND ALL MEMBERS, PHILIPPINE SENATE, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160342. November 10, 2003.]
ATTY. FERNANDO P.R. PERITO, IN HIS CAPACITY AS A MEMBER OF THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE
PHILIPPINES, MANILA III, AND ENGR. MAXIMO N. MENEZ JR., IN HIS CAPACITY AS A TAXPAYER
AND MEMBER OF THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION, petitioners, vs. THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES REPRESENTED BY THE 83 HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE LED BY
HON. REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAM FUENTEBELLA, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160343. November 10, 2003.]
INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
THROUGH THE SPEAKER OR ACTING SPEAKER OR PRESIDING OFFICER, SPEAKER JOSE G. DE
VENECIA, REPRESENTATIVE GILBERTO G. TEODORO, JR., REPRESENTATIVE FELIX WILLIAM B.
FUENTEBELLA, THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES THROUGH ITS PRESIDENT, SENATE PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN M. DRILON, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160360. November 10, 2003.]
CLARO B. FLORES, petitioner, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THROUGH THE SPEAKER,
AND THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES, THROUGH THE SENATE PRESIDENT, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160365. November 10, 2003.]
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
U.P. LAW ALUMNI CEBU FOUNDATION, INC., GOERING G.C. PADERANGA, DANILO V. ORTIZ,
GLORIA C. ESTENZO-RAMOS, LIZA D. CORRO, LUIS V. DIORES, SR., BENJAMIN S. RALLON,
ROLANDO P. NONATO, DANTE T. RAMOS, ELSA R. DIVINAGRACIA, KAREN B. CAPARROS-
ARQUILLANO, SYLVA G. AGUIRRE-PADERANGA, FOR THEMSELVES AND IN BEHALF OF OTHER
CITIZENS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioners, vs. THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES, SENATE
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DRILON, HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES FELIX FUENTEBELLA AND GILBERTO
TEODORO, BY THEMSELVES AND AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GROUP OF MORE THAN 80
HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES WHO SIGNED AND FILED THE IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT AGAINST
SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR., respondents.
[G.R. No. 160370. November 10, 2003.]
FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO, petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE, THE HONORABLE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160376. November 10, 2003.]
NILO A. MALANYAON, petitioner, vs. HON. FELIX WILLIAM FUENTEBELLA AND GILBERT
TEODORO, IN REPRESENTATION OF THE 86 SIGNATORIES OF THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT
AGAINST CHIEF JUSTICE HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR. AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES, REPRESENTED BY ITS SPEAKER, HON. JOSE G. DE VENECIA,
respondents.
[G.R. No. 160392. November 10, 2003.]
VENICIO S. FLORES AND HECTOR L. HOFILEA, petitioners, vs. THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, THROUGH SPEAKER JOSE G. DE VENECIA, AND THE SENATE OF THE
PHILIPPINES, THROUGH SENATE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DRILON, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160397. November 10, 2003.]
IN THE MATTER OF THE IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT AGAINST CHIEF JUSTICE HILARIO G.
DAVIDE, JR., ATTY. DIOSCORO U. VALLEJOS, JR., petitioner.
[G.R. No. 160403. November 10, 2003.]
PHILIPPINE BAR ASSOCIATION, petitioner, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THROUGH THE
SPEAKER OR PRESIDING OFFICER, HON. JOSE G. DE VENECIA, REPRESENTATIVE GILBERTO G.
TEODORO, JR., REPRESENTATIVE FELIX WILLIAM B. FUENTEBELLA, THE SENATE OF THE
PHILIPPINES, THROUGH SENATE PRESIDENT, HON. FRANKLIN DRILON, respondents.
[G.R. No. 160405. November 10, 2003.]
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
DEMOCRITO C. BARCENAS, PRESIDENT OF IBP, CEBU CITY CHAPTER, MANUEL M. MONZON,
PRESIDING OF IBP, CEBU PROVINCE, VICTOR A. MAAMBONG, PROVINCIAL BOARD MEMBER,
ADELINO B. SITOY, DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF CEBU, YOUNG LAWYERS
ASSOCIATION OF CEBU, INC. [YLAC], REPRESENTED BY ATTY. MANUEL LEGASPI,
CONFEDERATION OF ACCREDITED MEDIATORS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. [CAMP, INC.],
REPRESENTED BY RODERIC R. POCA, MANDAUE LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, [MANLAW],
REPRESENTED BY FELIPE VELASQUEZ, FEDERACION INTERNACIONAL DE ABOGADAS [FIDA],
REPRESENTED BY THELMA L. JORDAN, CARLOS G. CO, PRESIDENT OF CEBU CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AND CEBU LADY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, INC. [CELLA, INC.],
MARIBELLE NAVARRO AND BERNARDITO FLORIDO, PAST PRESIDENT CEBU CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE AND INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES, CEBU CHAPTER, petitioners, vs. THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPRESENTED BY REP. JOSE G. DE VENECIA, AS HOUSE SPEAKER
AND THE SENATE, REPRESENTED BY SENATOR FRANKLIN DRILON, AS SENATE PRESIDENT,
respondents.
SYNOPSIS
On June 2, 2003, former President Joseph E. Estrada filed with the Office of the Secretary
General of the House of Representatives, a verified impeachment complaint against Chief
Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. and seven (7) other Associate Justices of the Court for violation of
the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and, committing high crimes. The House Committee on
Justice subsequently dismissed said complaint on October 22, 2003 for insufficiency of
substance.
The next day, or on October 23, 2003, Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr., First District,
Tarlac and Felix William B. Fuentebella, Third District, Camarines Sur, filed another verified
impeachment complaint with the Office of the Secretary General of the House against Chief
Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., alleging underpayment of the COLA of the members and personnel
of the judiciary from the JDF and unlawful disbursement of said fund for various infrastructure
projects and acquisition of service vehicles and other equipment. Attached to the second
impeachment complaint was a Resolution of Endorsement/Impeachment signed by at least
one-third (1/3) of all the members of the House of Representatives. The complaint was set to
be transmitted to the Senate for appropriate action.
Subsequently, several petitions were filed with this Court by members of the bar, members of
the House of Representatives and private individuals, asserting their rights, among others, as
taxpayers, to stop the illegal spending of public funds for the impeachment proceedings against
the Chief Justice. Petitioners contended that the filing of second impeachment complaint
against the Chief Justice was barred under Article XI, Sec. 3 (5) of the 1987 Constitution which
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
AMAT VICTORIA CURAM
states that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than
once within a period of one year."
The Supreme Court held that the second impeachment complaint filed against Chief Justice
Hilario G. Davide, Jr. was unconstitutional or barred under Article XI, Sec. 3 (5) of the 1987
Constitution. Petitioners, as taxpayers, had sufficient standing to file the petitions to prevent
disbursement of public funds amounting to millions of pesos for an illegal act. The petitions
were justiciable or ripe for adjudication because there was an actual controversy involving
rights that are legally demandable. Whether the issues present a political question, the
Supreme Court held that only questions that are truly political questions are beyond judicial
review. The Supreme Court has the exclusive power to resolve with definitiveness the issues of
constitutionality. It is duty bound to take cognizance of the petitions to exercise the power of
judicial review as the guardian of the Constitution.
SYLLABUS
1. POLITICAL LAW; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; INCLUDES THE DUTY TO CURB GRAVE
ABUSE OF DISCRETION BY "ANY BRANCH OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF GOVERNMENT." This
Court's power of judicial review is conferred on the judicial branch of the government in Section
1, Article VIII of our present 1987 Constitution. . . As pointed out by Justice Laurel, this
"moderating power" to "determine the proper allocation of powers" of the different branches
of government and "to direct the course of government along constitutional channels" is
inherent in all courts as a necessary consequence of the judicial power itself, which is "the
power of the court to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable
and enforceable.". . In the scholarly estimation of former Supreme Court Justice Florentino
Feliciano, ". . . judicial review is essential for the maintenance and enforcement of the
separation of powers and the balancing of powers among the three great departments of
government through the definition and maintenance of the boundaries of authority and control
between them." To him,"[j]udicial review is the chief, indeed the only, medium of participation
or instrument of intervention of the judiciary in that balancing operation." To ensure the
potency of the power of judicial review to curb grave abuse of discretion by "any branch or
instrumentalities of government." the afore-quoted Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution
engraves, for the first time into its history, into block letter law the so-called "expanded
certiorari jurisdiction" of this court.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; AMERICAN JURISPRUDENCE AND AUTHORITIES CONFERRING UPON THE
LEGISLATURE THE DETERMINATION OF ALL ISSUES PERTAINING TO IMPEACHMENT TO THE
TOTAL EXCLUSION OF THE POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW ARE OF DUBIOUS APPLICATION WITHIN
OUR JURISDICTION; CASE AT BAR. Respondents' and intervenors' reliance upon American
jurisprudence, the American Constitution and American authorities cannot be credited to
Sieramon A. Lacambra Political law one
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support the proposition that the Senate's "sole power to try and decide impeachment cases,"
as provided for under Art. XI, Sec. 3(6) of the Constitution, is a textually demonstrable
constitutional commitment of all issues pertaining to impeachment to the legislature, to the
total exclusion of the power of judicial review to check and restrain any grave abuse of the
impeachment process. Nor can it reasonably support the interpretation that it necessarily
confers upon the Senate the inherently judicial power to determine constitutional questions
incident to impeachment proceedings. Said American jurisprudence and authorities, much less
the American Constitution, are of dubious application for these are no longer controlling within
our jurisdiction and have only limited persuasive merit insofar as Philippine constitutional law is
concerned. As held in the case of Garcia vs. COMELEC, "[i]n resolving constitutional disputes,
[this Court] should not be beguiled by foreign jurisprudence some of which are hardly
applicable because they have been dictated by different constitutional settings and needs."
Indeed, although the Philippine Constitution can trace its origins to that of the United States,
their paths of development have long since diverged. In the colorful words of amicius curiae
Father Bernas, "[w]e have cut the umbilical cord."
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE PHILIPPINE SUPREME
COURT AND THAT OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE
AND U.S. CONSTITUTIONS. The major difference between the judicial power of the Philippine
Supreme Court and that of the U.S. Supreme Court is that while the power of judicial review is
only impliedly granted to the U.S. Supreme Court and is discretionary in nature, that granted to
the Philippine Supreme Court and lower courts, as expressly provided for in the Constitution, is
not just a power but also a duty, and it was given an expanded definition to include the power
to correct any grave abuse of discretion on the part of any government branch or
instrumentality. There are also glaring distinctions between the U.S. Constitution and the
Philippine Constitution with respect to the power of the House of Representatives over
impeachment proceedings. While the U.S. Constitution bestows sole power of impeachment to
the House of Representatives without limitation, our Constitution, though vesting in the House
of Representatives the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, provides for several
limitations to the exercise of such power as embodied in Section 3(2), (3). (4) and (5), Article XI
thereof. These limitations include the manner of filing, required vote to impeach, and the one
year bar on the impeachment of one and the same official.
4. ID.; ID.; POWER EXCLUSIVELY VESTED IN THE JUDICIARY; CONGRESS HAS NO POWER TO
RULE ON THE ISSUE OF CONSTITUTIONALITY. The futility of seeking remedies from either or
both Houses of Congress before coming to this Court is shown by the fact that, as previously
discussed, neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate is clothed with the power to
rule with definitiveness on the issue of constitutionality, whether concerning impeachment
proceedings or otherwise, as said power is exclusively vested in the judiciary by the earlier
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quoted Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution. Remedy cannot be sought from a body which
is bereft of power to grant it.
5. ID.; ID.; JUDICIAL POWER IS NOT ONLY A POWER BUT ALSO A DUTY; ONLY "TRULY
POLITICAL QUESTIONS" ARE BEYOND JUDICIAL REVIEW. From the foregoing record of the
proceedings of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, it is clear that judicial power is not only a
power; it is also a duty, a duty which cannot be abdicated by the mere specter of this creature
called the political question doctrine. Chief Justice Concepcion hastened to clarify, however,
that Section 1, Article VIII was not intended to do away with "truly political questions." From
this clarification it is gathered that there are two species of political questions: (1) "truly
political questions" and (2) those which "are not truly political questions." Truly political
questions are thus beyond judicial review, the reason being that respect for the doctrine of
separation of powers must be maintained. On the other hand. by virtue of Section 1, Article VIII
of the Constitution, courts can review questions which are not truly political in nature.
6. ID.; ID.; EXERCISE OF JUDICIAL RESTRAINT OVER JUSTICIABLE ISSUES IS NOT AN OPTION;
COURT IS DUTY BOUND TO TAKE COGNIZANCE OF PETITIONS IN CASE AT BAR. The exercise
of judicial restraint over justiciable issues is not an option before this Court. Adjudication may
not be declined, because this Court is not legally disqualified. Nor can jurisdiction be renounced
as there is no other tribunal to which the controversy may be referred."Otherwise, this Court
would be shirking from its duty vested under Art. VIII, Sec. 1(2) of the Constitution. More than
being clothed with authority thus, this Court is duty-bound to take cognizance of the instant
petitions. In the august words of amicus curiae Father Bernas "jurisdiction is not just a power; it
is a solemn duty which may not be renounced. To renounce it, even if it is vexatious, would be a
dereliction of duty." Even in cases where it is an interested party, the Court under our system of
government cannot inhibit itself and must rule upon the challenge because no other office has
the authority to do so. On the occasion when this Court had been an interested party to the
controversy before it, it had acted upon the matter "not with officiousness but in the discharge
of an unavoidable duty and, as always, with detachment and fairness." After all, "by [his]
appointment to the office, the public has laid on [a member of the judiciary] their confidence
that [he] is mentally and morally fit to pass upon the merits of their varied contentions. For this
reason, they expect [him] to be fearless in [his] pursuit to render justice, toi be unafraid to
displease any person, interest or power and to equipped with a moral fiber strong enough to
resist the temptation lurking in [his] office."
7. POLITICAL LAW; LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT POWER; ONE-YEAR BAN
PROHIBITING THE INITIATION OF IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE SAME OFFICIALS
UNDER SECTION 3(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION; MEANING OF TIE TERM "INITIATE"; CASE AT BAR.
From the records of the Constitutional Commission, to the amicus curiae briefs of two
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former Constitutional Commissioners, it is without a doubt that the term "to initiate" refers to
the filing of the impeachment complaint coupled with Congress' taking initial action on said
complaint. Having concluded that the initiation takes place by the act of filing and referral or
endorsement of the impeachment complaint to the House Committee on Justice or, by the
filing by at least one-third of the members of the House of Representatives with the Secretary
General of the House, the meaning of Section 3(5) of Article XI becomes clear. Once an
impeachment complaint has been initiated, another impeachment complaint may not be filed
against the same official within a one year period.

8. ID.; ID.; ID.; POWER OF CONGRESS TO MAKE AND INTERPRET ITS RULES ON
IMPEACHMENT IS NOT ABSOLUTE; IMPEACHMENT RULES MUST EFFECTIVELY CARRY OUT THE
PURPOSE OF THE CONSTITUTION. Respondent House of Representatives counters that under
Section 3 (8) of Article XI, it is clear and unequivocal that it and only it has the power to make
and interpret its rules governing impeachment. Its argument is premised on the assumption
that Congress has absolute power to promulgate its rules. This assumption, however, is
misplaced. Section 3(8) of Article XI provides that "The Congress shall promulgate its rules on
impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this section." Clearly, its power to
promulgate its rules on impeachment is limited by the phrase "to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section." Hence, these rules cannot contravene the very purpose of the
Constitution which said rules were intended to effectively carry out. Moreover, Section 3 of
Article XI clearly provides for other specific limitations on its power to make rules.
VITUG, J., separate opinion:
1. POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; NOT FORECLOSED BY
THE ISSUE OF "POLITICAL QUESTION" ON AN ASSAILED ACT OF A BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT
WHERE DISCRETION HAS NOT, IN FACT BEEN VESTED, YET ASSUMED AND EXERCISED. The
Court should not consider the issue of "political question" as foreclosing judicial review on an
assailed act of a branch of government in instances where discretion has not, in fact, been
vested, yet assumed and exercised. Where, upon the other hand, such discretion is given, the
"political question doctrine" may be ignored only if the Court sees such review as necessary to
void an action committed with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction. In the latter case, the constitutional grant of the power of judicial review vested by
the Philippine Constitution on the Supreme Court is rather clear and positive, certainly and
textually broader and more potent than where it has been borrowed.
2. ID.; ID.; SCOPE OF POWER UNDER THE 1987 CONSTITUTION, EXPANDED; VIOLATIONS
OF CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATES ARE SUBJECT TO JUDICIAL INQUIRY; SUPREME COURT AS THE
ULTIMATE ARBITER ON, AND THE ADJUDGED SENTINEL OF THE CONSTITUTION. The 1987
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Constitution has, in good measure, "narrowed the reach of the `political question doctrine' by
expanding the power of judicial review of the Supreme Court not only to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable but also to
determine whether or not grave abuse of discretion has attended an act of any branch or
instrumentality of government. When constitutional limits or proscriptions are expressed,
discretion is effectively withheld. Thus, issues pertaining to who are impeachable officers, the
number of votes necessary to impeach and the prohibition against initiation of impeachment
proceeding twice against the same official in a single year, provided for in Sections 2, 3, and 4,
and 5 of Article XI of the Constitution, verily are subject to judicial inquiry, and any violation or
disregard of these explicit Constitutional mandates can be struck down by the Court in the
exercise of judicial power. In so doing, the Court does not thereby arrogate unto itself, let alone
assume superiority over, nor undue interference into the domain of, a co-equal branch of
government, but merely fulfills its constitutional duty to uphold the supremacy of the
Constitution. The judiciary may be the weakest among the three branches of government but it
concededly and rightly occupies the post of being the ultimate arbiter on, and the adjudged
sentinel of, the Constitution.
3. ID.; LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS; ONE-YEAR BAN
PROHIBITING THE INITIATION OF A SECOND IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SAME
OFFICIALS UNDER SECTION 3(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION; MEANING OF THE TERM, "INITIATE";
CASE AT BAR. I would second the view that the term "initiate" should be construed as the
physical act of filing the complaint, coupled with an action by the House taking cognizance of it,
i.e., referring the complaint to the proper Committee. Evidently, the House of Representatives
had taken cognizance of the first complaint and acted on it 1) The complaint was filed on 02
June 2003 by former President Joseph Estrada along with the resolutions of endorsement
signed by three members of the House of Representatives; 2) on 01 August 2003, the Speaker
of the House directed the chairman of the House Committee on Rules, to include in the Order
of Business the complaint; 3) on 13 October 2003, the House Committee on Justice included the
complaint in its Order of Business and ruled that the complaint was sufficient in form; and 4) on
22 October 2003, the House Committee on Justice dismissed the complaint for impeachment
against the eight justices, including Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., of the Supreme Court, for
being insufficient in substance. The following day, on 23 October 2003, the second
impeachment complaint was filed by two members of the House of Representatives,
accompanied by an endorsement signed by at least one-third of its membership, against the
Chief Justice.
PANGANIBAN, J. separate concurring opinion:
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POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; HAS THE DUTY TO DETERMINE
WHETHER ANY INCIDENT OF THE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING VIOLATES ANY
CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION; CASE AT BAR. The constitution imposes on the Supreme
court the duty to rule on unconstitutional acts of "any" branch or instrumentality of
government. Such duty is plenary, extensive and admits of no exceptions. While the Court is not
authorized to pass upon the wisdom of an impeachment, it is nonetheless obligated to
determine whether any incident of the impeachment proceedings violates any constitutional
prohibition, condition or limitation imposed on its exercise. Thus, normally, the Court may not
inquire into how and why the house initiates an impeachment complaint. But if in initiating
one, it violates a constitutional prohibition, condition or limitation on the exercise thereof, then
the Court as the protector and interpreter of the Constitution is duty-bound to intervene and
"to settle" the issue. . . In the present cases, the main issue is whether, in initiating the second
Impeachment Complaint, the House of Representatives violated Article XI, Section 3(5), which
provides that "[n]o impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more
than once within a period of one year." The interpretation of this constitutional prohibition or
condition as it applies to the second Impeachment Complaint clearly involves the "legality, not
the wisdom" of the acts of the House of Representatives. Thus, the Court must "settle it."
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J., separate concurring opinion:
1. POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; COURT SHOULD DO ITS
DUTY TO INTERPRET THE LAW EVEN IF THERE IS A DANGER OF EXPOSING THE COURT'S
INABILITY IN GIVING EFFICACY TO ITS JUDGMENT. Confronted with an issue involving
constitutional infringement, should this Court shackle its hands under the principle of judicial
self restraint? The polarized opinions of the amici curiae is that by asserting its power of judicial
review, this Court can maintain the supremacy of the Constitution but at the same time invites
a disastrous confrontation with the House of Representatives. A question repeated almost to
satiety is what if the House holds its ground and refuses to respect the Decision of this
Court? It is argued that there will be a Constitutional crisis. Nonetheless, despite such
impending scenario, I believe this Court should do its duty mandated by the Constitution,
seeing to it that it acts within the bounds of its authority. The 1987 Constitution speaks of
judicial prerogative not only in terms of power but also of duty. As the last guardian of the
Constitution, the Court's duty is to uphold and defend it at all times and for all persons. It is a
duty this Court cannot abdicate. It is a mandatory and inescapable obligation made
particularly more exacting and peremptory by the oath of each member of this Court. Judicial
reluctance on the face of a clear constitutional transgression may bring about the death of the
rule of law in this country. Yes, there is indeed a danger of exposing the Court's inability in
giving efficacy to its judgment. But is it not the way in our present system of government? The
Legislature enacts the law, the Judiciary interprets it and the Executive implements it. It is not
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for the Court to withhold its judgment just because it would be a futile exercise of authority. It
should do its duty to interpret the law.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS; SUPREME COURT HAS POWER TO DECLARE
HOUSE RULES OR ACT UNCONSTITUTIONAL IF FORBIDDEN BY THE CONSTITUTION. While the
power to initiate all cases of impeachment is regarded as a matter of "exclusive" concern only
of the House of Representatives, over which the other departments may not exercise
jurisdiction by virtue of the separation of powers established by the fundamental law, it does
not follow that the House of Representatives may not overstep its own powers defined and
limited by the Constitution. Indeed, it cannot, under the guise of implementing its Rules,
transgress the Constitution, for when it does, its act immediately ceases to be a mere internal
concern. Surely, by imposing limitations on specific powers of the House of Representatives, a
fortiori, the Constitution has prescribed a diminution of its "exclusive power." I am sure that the
honorable Members of the House who took part in the promulgation and adoption of its
internal rules on impeachment did not intend to disregard or disobey the clear mandate of the
Constitution the law of the people. And I confidently believe that they recognize, as fully as
this Court does, that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, equally binding upon
every branch or department of the government and upon every citizen, high or low. It need not
be stressed that under our present form of government, the executive, legislative and judicial
departments are coequal and co-important. But it does not follow that this Court, whose
Constitutional primary duty is to interpret the supreme law of the land, has not the power to
declare the House Rules unconstitutional. Of course, this Court will not attempt to require the
House of Representatives to adopt a particular action, but it is authorized and empowered to
pronounce an action null and void if found to be contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; IMPEACHMENT CASES; PETITIONERS, AS TAXPAYERS, HAVE LOCUS STANDI
TO QUESTION VALIDITY OF THE SECOND IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CHIEF
JUSTICE. Indeed, the present suits involve matters of first impression and of immense
importance to the public considering that, as previously stated, this is the first time a Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court is being subjected to an impeachment proceeding which,
according to petitioners, is prohibited by the Constitution. Obviously, if such proceeding is not
prevented and nullified, public funds amounting to millions of pesos will be disbursed for an
illegal act. Undoubtedly, this is a grave national concern involving paramount public interest.
The petitions are properly instituted to avert such a situation.
CORONA, J., separate opinion:
1. POLITICAL LAW; LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT; PURPOSE; INTENDED TO
BE AN INSTRUMENT OF LAST RESORT. Impeachment has been described as sui generis and
an "exceptional method of removing exceptional public officials (that must be) exercised by the
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Congress with exceptional caution." Thus, it is directed only at an exclusive list of officials,
providing for complex procedures, exclusive grounds and every stringent limitations. The
implied constitutional caveat on impeachment is that Congress should use that awesome
power only for protecting the welfare of the state and the people, and not merely the personal
interests of a few. There exists no doubt in my mind that the framers of the Constitution
intended impeachment to be an instrument of last resort, a draconian measure to be exercised
only when there are no other alternatives available. It was never meant to be a bargaining chip,
much less a weapon for political leverage. Unsubstantiated allegations, mere suspicions of
wrongdoing and other less than serious grounds, needless to state, preclude its invocation or
exercise.
2. POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; SUPREME COURT HAS
THE DUTY TO DECIDE PENDING PETITIONS TO MAINTAIN THE SUPREMACY OF THE
CONSTITUTION IN CASE AT BAR. The Court has the obligation to decide on the issues before
us to preserve the hierarchy of laws and to maintain the supremacy of the rule of the
Constitution over the rule of men, . . .The Court should not evade its duty to decide the pending
petitions because of its sworn responsibility as the guardian of the Constitution. To refuse
cognizance of the present petitions merely because they indirectly concern the Chief Justice of
this Court is to skirt the duty of dispensing fair and impartial justice. Furthermore, refusing to
assume jurisdiction under these circumstances will run afoul of the great traditions of our
democratic way of life and the very reason why this Court exists in the first place.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; ID.; SCOPE OF POWER UNDER THE 1987 CONSTITUTION EXPANDED.
Under the new definition of judicial power embodied in Article VIII, Section 1, courts of justice
have not only the authority but also the duty to "settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable" and "to determine whether or not there has
been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the government." The Court can therefore, in certain situations
provided in the Constitution itself, inquire into the acts of Congress and the President, though
with great hesitation and prudence owing to mutual respect and comity. Among these
situations, in so far as the pending petitions are concerned, are (1) issues involving
constitutionality and (2) grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of or excess of jurisdiction
on the part of any branch of the government. These are the strongest reasons for the Court to
exercise its jurisdiction over the pending cases before us.
CALLEJO, SR., J., separate opinion:
POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; IMPEACHMENT CASES;
SUPREME COURT HAS THE DUTY TO CONSIDER WHETHER THE PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS ARE
IN CONFORMITY WITH THE CONSTITUTION. Under Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution,
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"judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established
by law. The judicial power of the Court includes the power to settle controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
the branch or instrumentality of the Government." In Estrada v. Desierto, this Court held that
with the new provision in the Constitution, courts are given a greater prerogative to determine
what it can do to prevent grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction
on the part of any branch or instrumentality of government. The constitution is the supreme
law on all governmental agencies, including the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Under Section 4(2), Article VIII of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is vested with jurisdiction
over cases involving the constitutionality, application and operation of government rules and
regulations, including the constitutionality, application and operation of rules of the House of
Representatives, as well as the Senate. It is competent and proper for the Court to consider
whether the proceedings in Congress are in conformity with the Constitution and the law
because living under the Constitution, no branch or department of the government is supreme;
and it is the duty of the judiciary to determine cases regularly brought before them, whether
the powers of any branch of the government and even those of the legislative enactment of
laws and rules have been exercised in conformity with the Constitution; and if they have not, to
treat their acts as null and void. Under Section 5, Article VIII of the Constitution, the Court has
exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari and prohibition. The House of Representatives
may have the sole power to initiate impeachment cases, and the Senate the sole power to try
and decide the said cases, but the exercise of such powers must be in conformity with and not
in derogation of the Constitution.
AZCUNA, J., separate opinion:
1. POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; PETITIONERS, AS
TAXPAYERS, HAVE LOCUS STANDI TO QUESTION VALIDITY OF THE SECOND IMPEACHMENT
COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CHIEF JUSTICE; JUSTICIABILITY OF PETITIONS IN CASE AT BAR.
There can be no serious challenge as to petitioners' locus standi. Eight are Members of the
House of Representatives, with direct interest in the integrity of its proceedings. Furthermore,
petitioners as taxpayers have sufficient standing, in view of the transcendental importance of
the issue at hand. It goes beyond the fate of Chief Justice Davide, as it shakes the very
foundations of our system of government and poses a question as to our survival as a
democratic polity. There is, moreover, an actual controversy involving rights that are legally
demandable, thereby leaving no doubt as to the justiciability of the petitions.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; IMPEACHMENT CASES; SUPREME COURT HAS THE DUTY TO CONSIDER
WHETHER THE PROCEEDINGS THEREIN CONFORM WITH THE CONSTITUTION. Unlike the
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Constitutions of other countries, that of the Philippines, our Constitution, has opted textually to
commit the sole power and the exclusive power to this and to that Department or branch of
government, but in doing so it has further provided specific procedures and equally textually
identifiable limits to the exercise of those powers. Thus, the filing of the complaint for
impeachment is provided for in detail as to who may file and as to what shall be done to the
complaint after it is filed, the referral to the proper Committee, its hearing, its voting, its report
to the House, and the action of the House thereon, and the timeframes for every step
(Subsection 2). Similarly, the required number of votes to affirm or override a favorable or
contrary resolution is stated (Subsection 3). So, also, what is needed for a complaint or
resolution of impeachment to constitute the Articles of Impeachment, so that trial by the
Senate shall forthwith proceed, is specifically laid down, i.e., a verified complaint or resolution
of impeachment filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House (Subsection 4). It is
my view that when the Constitution not only gives or allocates the power to one Department or
branch of government, be it solely or exclusively, but also, at the same time, or together with
the grant or allocation, specifically provides certain limits to its exercise, then this Court,
belonging to the Department called upon under the Constitution to interpret its provisions, has
the jurisdiction to do so. And, in fact, this jurisdiction of the Court is not so much a power as a
duty, as clearly set forth in Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution.
3. ID.; LEGISLATION DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT; ONE-YEAR BAN PROHIBITING THE
INITIATION THEREOF AGAINST THE SAME OFFICIALS UNDER ARTICLE XI, SECTION 3(5) OF THE
CONSTITUTION; MEANING OF THE TERM "INITIATE." It is also contended that the provision
of Article XI, Sec. 3 (5) refers to impeachment proceedings in the Senate, not in the House of
Representatives. This is premised on the wording of Article XI, Sec. 3 (1) which states that "The
House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment."
Thus, it is argued, cases of impeachment are initiated only by the filing thereof by the House of
Representatives with the Senate, so that impeachment proceedings are those that follow said
filing. This interpretation does violence to the carefully allocated division of power found in
Article XI, Sec. 3. Precisely, the first part of the power is lodged with the House, that of initiating
impeachment, so that a respondent hailed by the House before the Senate is a fact and in law
already impeached. What the House initiates in the Senate is an impeachment CASE, not
PROCEEDINGS. The proceedings for impeachment preceded that and took place exclusively in
the House (in fact, non-members of the House cannot initiate it and there is a need for a House
member to endorse the complaint). And what takes place in the Senate is the trial and the
decision. For this reason, Subsections (1) to (5) of Article XI, Section 3 apply to the House
whereas Subsections (6) and (7) apply to the Senate, and Subsection (8) applies to both, or to
"Congress." There is therefore a sequence or order in these subsections, and the contrary view
disregards the same.
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TINGA, J., separate opinion:
1. POLITICAL LAW; LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT, NATURE OF. On the
question of whether it is proper for this Court to decide the petitions, it would be useless for us
to pretend that the official being impeached is not a member of this Court, much less the
primus inter pares. Simplistic notions of rectitude will cause a furor over the decision of this
Court, even if it is the right decision. Yet we must decide this case because the Constitution
dictates that we do so. The most fatal charge that can be levied against this Court is that it did
not obey the Constitution. The Supreme Court cannot afford, as it did in the Javellana case, to
abdicate its duty and refuse to address a constitutional violation of a co-equal branch of
government just because it feared the political repercussions. And it is comforting that this
Court need not rest merely on rhetoric in deciding that it is proper for it to decide the petitions,
despite the fact that the fate of the Chief Justice rests in the balance. Jurisprudence is replete
with instances when this Court was called upon to exercise judicial duty, notwithstanding the
fact that the application of the same could benefit one or all members of the Court.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that the second impeachment complaint is forever barred;
only that it should be dismissed without prejudice to its re-filing after one year from the filing of
the first impeachment complaint. Indeed, this Court cannot deprive the House of the exclusive
power of impeachment lodged in the House by the Constitution. In taking cognizance of this
case, the Court does not do so out of empathy or loyalty for one of our Brethren. Nor does it do
so out of enmity or loathing toward the Members of a co-equal branch, whom I still call and
regard as my Brethren. The Court, in assuming jurisdiction over this case, to repeat, does so
only out of duty, a duty reposed no less by the fundamental law.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; SENATE HAS NO AUTHORITY TO PASS UPON THE HOUSE RULES ON
IMPEACHMENT. Despite suggestions to the contrary, I maintain that the Senate does not
have the jurisdiction to determine whether or not the House Rules of Impeachment violate the
Constitution. As I earlier stated, impeachment is not an inherent legislative function, although it
is traditionally conferred on the legislature. It requires the mandate of a constitutional
provision before the legislature can assume impeachment functions. The grant of power should
be explicit in the Constitution. It cannot be readily carved out of the shade of a presumed
penumbra. In this case, there is a looming prospect that an invalid impeachment complaint
emanating from an unconstitutional set of House rules would be presented to the Senate for
action. The proper recourse would be to dismiss the complaint on constitutional grounds. Yet,
from the Constitutional and practical perspectives, only this Court may grant that relief. The
Senate cannot be expected to declare void the Articles of Impeachment, as well as the
offending Rules of the House based on which the House completed the impeachment process.
The Senate cannot look beyond the Articles of Impeachment. Under the Constitution, the
Senate's mandate is solely to try and decide the impeachment complaint. While the Senate acts
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as an impeachment court for the purpose of trying and deciding impeachment cases, such
"transformation" does not vest unto the Senate any of the powers inherent in the Judiciary,
because impeachment powers are not residual with the Senate. Whatever powers the Senate
may acquire as an impeachment court are limited to what the Constitution provides, if any, and
they cannot extend to judicial-like review of the acts of co-equal components of government,
including those of the House. Pursuing the concept of the Senate as an impeachment court, its
jurisdiction, like that of the regular courts,' has to be conferred by law and it cannot be
presumed. This is the principle that binds and guides all courts of the land, and it should
likewise govern the impeachment court, limited as its functions may be. There must be an
express grant of authority in the Constitution empowering the Senate to pass upon the House
Rules on Impeachment.
3. ID.; ID.; INTER-CHAMBER COURTESY; ANY ATTEMPT OF THE SENATE TO INVALIDATE THE
HOUSE RULES OF IMPEACHMENT IS OBNOXIOUS TO INTER-CHAMBER COURTESY. Ought to
be recognized too is the tradition of comity observed by members of Congress commonly
referred to as "inter-chamber courtesy." It is simply the mutual deference accorded by the
chambers of Congress to each other. Thus, "the opinion of each House should be independent
and not influenced by the proceedings of the other." While inter-chamber courtesy is not a
principle which has attained the level of a statutory command, it enjoys a high degree of
obeisance among the members of the legislature, ensuring as it does the smooth flow of the
legislative process. It is my belief that any attempt on the part of the Senate to invalidate the
House Rules of Impeachment is obnoxious to inter-chamber courtesy. If the Senate were to
render these House Rules unconstitutional, it would set an unfortunate precedent that might
engender a wrong-headed assertion that one chamber of Congress may invalidate the rules and
regulations promulgated by the other chamber. Verily, the duty to pass upon the validity of the
House Rules of Impeachment is imposed by the Constitution not upon the Senate but upon this
Court.
4. ID.; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW; SUPREME COURT HAS THE DUTY
TO ADDRESS CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION OF A CO-EQUAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, EVEN IF
IT WOULD REDOUND TO THE BENEFIT OF ONE, SOME OR EVEN ALL MEMBERS OF THE COURT.
On the question of whether it is proper for this Court to decide the petitions, it would be
useless for us to pretend that the official being impeached is not a member of this Court, much
less the primus inter pares. Simplistic notions of rectitude will cause a furor over the decision of
this Court, even if it is the right decision. Yet we must decide this case because the Constitution
dictates that we do so. The most fatal charge that can be levied against this Court is that it did
not obey the Constitution. The Supreme Court cannot afford, as it did in the Javellana case, to
abdicate its duty and refuse to address a constitutional violation of a co-equal branch of
government just because it feared the political repercussions. And it is comforting that this
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Court need not rest merely on rhetoric in deciding that it is proper for it to decide the petitions,
despite the fact that the fate of the Chief Justice rests in the balance. Jurisprudence is replete
with instances when this Court responded to the call of judicial duty, notwithstanding the fact
that the performance of the duty would ultimately redound to the benefit of one, some or even
all members of the Court. . . Indeed, this Court cannot deprive the House of the exclusive power
of impeachment lodged in the House by the Constitution. In taking cognizance of this case, the
Court does not do so out of empathy or loyalty for one of our Brethren. Nor does it do so out of
enmity or loathing toward the Members of a coequal branch, whom I still call and regard as my
Brethren. The Court, in assuming jurisdiction over this case, to repeat, does so only out of duty,
a duty reposed no less by the fundamental law.
PUNO, J., concurring and dissenting:
1. POLITICAL LAW; IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS; HISTORIOGRAPHY OF OUR
IMPEACHMENT PROVISIONS SHOW INHERENT NATURE OF IMPEACHMENT AS POLITICAL.
The historiography of our impeachment provisions will show that they were liberally lifted from
the US Constitution. Following an originalist interpretation, there is much to commend to the
thought that they are political in nature and character. The political character of impeachment
hardly changed in our 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions. Thus, among the grounds of
impeachment are "other high crimes or betrayal of public trust." They hardly have any judicially
ascertainable content. The power of impeachment is textually committed to Congress, a
political branch of government. The right to accuse is exclusively given to the House of
Representatives. The right to try and decide is given solely to the Senate and not to the
Supreme Court. The Chief Justice has a limited part in the process . . . to preside but without the
right to vote when the President is under impeachment. Likewise, the President cannot exercise
his pardoning power in cases of impeachment. All these provisions confirm the inherent nature
of impeachment as political.
2. ID.; ID.; ID.; REENGINEERED CONCEPT OF OUR IMPEACHMENT IS NOW A COMMIXTURE
OF POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL COMPONENTS; RIGHT OF CHIEF JUSTICE AGAINST THE INITIATION
OF A SECOND IMPEACHMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR IS A JUSTICIABLE ISSUE. Be that as it may,
the purity of the political nature of impeachment has been lost. Some legal scholars
characterize impeachment proceedings as akin to criminal proceedings. Thus, they point to
some of the grounds of impeachment like treason, bribery, graft and corruption as well defined
criminal offenses. They stress that the impeached official undergoes trial in the Senate sitting as
an impeachment court. If found guilty, the impeached official suffers a penalty "which shall not
be further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic
of the Philippines." I therefore respectfully submit that there is now a commixture of political
and judicial components in our reengineered concept of impeachment. It is for this reason and
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more that impeachment proceedings are classified as sui generis. To be sure, our impeachment
proceedings are indigenous, a kind of its own. They have been shaped by our distinct political
experience especially in the last fifty years. EDSA People Power I resulted in the radical
rearrangement of the powers of government in the 1987 Constitution.
3. ID.; ID.; INITIATION THEREOF AND ITS DECISION ARE INITIALLY BEST LEFT TO CONGRESS;
COORDINACY THEORY OF CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION AND PRUDENTIAL
CONSIDERATIONS DEMAND DEFERMENT OF COURT'S EXERCISE OF JURISDICTION OVER
PETITIONS; CASE AT BAR. I most respectfully submit, that the 1987 Constitution adopted
neither judicial restraint nor judicial activism as a political philosophy to the exclusion of each
other. The expanded definition of judicial power gives the Court enough elbow room to be
more activist in dealing with political questions but did not necessarily junk restraint in
resolving them. Political questions are not undifferentiated questions. They are of different
variety. The antagonism between judicial restraint and judicial activism is avoided by the
coordinacy theory of constitutional interpretation. This coordinacy theory gives room for
judicial restraint without allowing the judiciary to abdicate its constitutionally mandated duty to
interpret the constitution. Coordinacy theory rests on the premise that within the
constitutional system, each branch of government has an independent obligation to interpret
the Constitution. This obligation is rooted on the system of separation of powers. The oath to
"support this Constitution" which the constitution mandates judges, legislators and
executives to take proves this independent obligation. Thus, the coordinacy theory
accommodates judicial restraint because it recognizes that the President and Congress also
have an obligation to interpret the constitution. In fine, the Court, under the coordinacy theory,
considers the preceding constitutional judgments made by other branches of government. By
no means however, does it signify complete judicial deference. Coordinacy means courts listen
to the voice of the President and Congress but their voice does not silence the judiciary. The
doctrine in Marbury v. Madison that courts are not bound by the constitutional interpretation
of other branches of government still rings true. As well stated, "the coordinacy thesis is quite
compatible with a judicial deference that accommodates the views of other branches, while not
amounting to an abdication of judicial review." With due respect, I cannot take the extreme
position of judicial restraint that always defers on the one hand, or judicial activism that never
defers on the other. I prefer to take the contextual approach of the coordinacy theory which
considers the constitution's allocation of decision-making authority, the constitution's
judgments as to the relative risks of action and inaction by each branch of government, and the
fears and aspirations embodies in the different provisions of the constitution. The contextual
approach better attends to the specific character of particular constitutional provisions and
calibrates deference or restraint accordingly on a case to case basis. In doing so, it allows the
legislature adequate leeway to carry out their constitutional duties while at the same time
ensuring that any abuse does not undermine important constitutional principles. . . Their
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correct calibration will compel the conclusion that this Court should defer the exercise of its
ultimate jurisdiction over the petitions at bar out of prudence and respect to the initial exercise
by the legislature of its jurisdiction over impeachment proceedings.
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J., concurring and dissenting:
1. POLITICAL LAW; SUPREME COURT; POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW ; IMPEACHMENT
PROCEEDINGS; SUPREME COURT HAS THE DUTY TO REVIEW THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE
ACTS OF CONGRESS. I also concur with the ponente that the Court has the power of judicial
review: This power of the Court has been expanded by the Constitution not only to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable but also to
determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of an branch or instrumentality of government. The court is
under mandate to assume jurisdiction over, and to undertake judicial inquiry into, what may
even be deemed to be political questions provided, however, that grave abuse of discretion
the sole test of justiciability on purely political issues is shown to have attended the
contested act. The Court checks the exercise of power of the other branches of government
through judicial review. It is the final arbiter of the disputes involving the proper allocation and
exercise of the different powers under the Constitution. When the Supreme Court reviews the
Constitutionality of the acts of Congress, it does not thereby assert its superiority over a co-
equal branch of government. It merely asserts its solemn and sacred obligation under the
Constitution and affirms constitutional supremacy. Indeed, in the resolution of the principal
issue in these petitions, a distinction has to be drawn between the power of the members of
the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings, on the one hand, and the
manner in which they have exercised that power. While it is clear that the House has the
exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, and the Senate has the sole power to try and
decide these cases, the Court, upon a proper finding that either chamber committed, grave
abuse of discretion or violated any constitutional provision, may invoke its corrective power of
judicial review.
2. ID.; LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT; IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS; ONE-YEAR BAN
PROHIBITING THE INITIATION OF IMPEACHMENT CASE AGAINST THE SAME OFFICIALS
UNDER SECTION 3(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION; MEANING OF THE TERM "INITIATE. The
meaning of the word "initiate" in relation to impeachment is at the center of much debate. The
confusion as to the meaning of this term was aggravated by the amendment of the House of
Representatives' Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings. The first set of Rules
adopted on May 31, 1988, specifically Rule V, Section 14 and Rule 11, Section 2 thereof,
provides that impeachment shall be initiated when a verified complaint for impeachment is
filed by any Member of the House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of
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endorsement by any Member thereof, or when a verified complaint or resolution of
impeachment is filed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House. This provision
was later amended on November 28, 2001: Rule V, Section 16 of the amendatory Rules states
that impeachment proceedings under any of the three methods above-stated are deemed
initiated on the day that the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or
resolution against such official is sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to
overturn or affirm the finding of the said Committee that the verified complaint and/or
resolution is not sufficient in substance. The adoption of the 2001 Rules, at least insofar as
initiation of impeachment proceedings is concerned, unduly expanded the power of the House
by restricting the constitutional time-bar only to complaints that have been "approved" by the
House Committee on Justice. As stated above, the one-year bar is a limitation set by the
Constitution which Congress cannot overstep. Indeed, the Records of the Constitutional
Commission clearly show that, as defined in Article XI, Section 3 (5), impeachment proceedings
begin not on the floor of the House but with the filing of the complaint by any member of the
House of any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof. This is the plain
sense in which the word "Initiate" must be understood, i.e., to begin or commence the action.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; HOW COMPLAINT FOR IMPEACHMENT IS "FILED"; CASE AT BAR.
Moreover, the second impeachment complaint was filed by only two complainants, namely
Representatives Gilberto G. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William B. Fuentebella. The rest of the
members of the House whose names appear on the attachments thereto merely signed
endorsements to the Complaint. Article XI, Section 3 (3) of the Constitution is explicit: In case
the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the
Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the
Senate shall forthwith proceed. (Emphasis provided.) The mere endorsement of the members
of the House, albeit embodied in a verified resolution, did not suffice for it did not constitute
filing of the impeachment complaint, as this term is plainly understood. In order that the
verified complaint may be said to have been filed by at least 1/3 of the Members, all of them
must be named as complainants therein. All of them must sign the main complaint. This was
not done in the case of the assailed second impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice.
The complaint was not filed by at least one-third of the Members of the House, and therefore
did not constitute the Article of Impeachment. I am constrained to disagree with the majority
decision to discard the above issue for being unnecessary for the determination of the instant
cases. On the contrary, the foregoing defect in the complaint is a vital issue in the
determination of whether or not the House should transmit the complaint to the Senate, and if
it does, whether the Senate should entertain it. The Constitution is clear that the complaint for
impeachment shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, without need of referral to the
Committee on Justice, when the complaint is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of
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the House. Being the exception to the general procedure outlined in the Constitution, its formal
requisites must be strictly construed.
4. ID.; ID.; ID.; SIGNING OF IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT DONE WITHOUT DUE PROCESS IN
CASE AT BAR. The impeachment complaint suffers from yet another serious flaw. As one of
the amici curiae, former Senate President Jovito Salonga, pointed out, the signing of the
impeachment complaint by the purported 1/3 of the Congressmen was done without due
process. The Chief Justice, against whom the complaint was brought, was not served notice of
the proceedings against him. No rule is better established under the due process clause of the
constitution, than that which requires notice and opportunity to be heard before any person
can be lawfully deprived of his rights. Indeed, when the Constitution says that no person shall
be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, it means that every person
shall be afforded the essential element of notice in any proceeding. Any act committed in
violation of due process may be declared null and void.
5. ID.; ID.; ID.; JUDICIAL SELF-RESTRAINT SHOULD BE EXERCISED IN IMPEACHMENT
PROCEEDINGS. Notwithstanding the constitutional and procedural defects in the
impeachment complaint, I dissent from the majority when it decided to resolve the issues at
this premature stage. I submit that the process of impeachment should first be allowed to run
its course. The power of this Court as the final arbiter of all justiciable questions should come
into play only when the procedure as outlined in the Constitution has been exhausted. The
complaint should be referred back to the House Committee on Justice, where its
constitutionality may be threshed out. Thereafter, if the Committee so decides, the complaint
will have to be deliberated by the House on plenary session, preparatory to its possible
transmittal to the Senate. The questions on the sufficiency of the complaint in form may again
be brought to the Senate by way of proper motion, and the Senate may deny the motion or
dismiss the complaint depending on the merits of the grounds raised. After the Senate shall
have acted in due course, its disposition of the case may be elevated to this Court pursuant to
its judicial power of review. . . The Court should recognize the extent and practical limitations of
its judicial prerogatives, and identify those areas where it should carefully tread instead of rush
in and act accordingly. Considering that power of impeachment was intended to be the
legislature's lone check on the judiciary, exercising our power of judicial review over
impeachment would place the final reviewing authority with respect to impeachments in the
hands of the same body that the impeachment process is meant to regulate. In fact, judicial
involvement in impeachment proceedings, even if only for purposes of judicial review is
counter-intuitive because it eviscerates the improper constitutional check to the judiciary. A
becoming sense of propriety and justice dictates that judicial self-restraint should be exercised;
that the impeachment power should remain at all times and under all circumstances with the
legislature, where the Constitution has placed it. The common-law principle of judicial restraint
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serves the public interest by allowing the political processes to operate without undue
interference.
D E C I S I O N
CARPIO-MORALES, J p:
There can be no constitutional crisis arising from a conflict, no matter how passionate and
seemingly irreconcilable it may appear to be, over the determination by the independent
branches of government of the nature, scope and extent of their respective constitutional
powers where the Constitution itself provides for the means and bases for its resolution.
DcTSHa
Our nation's history is replete with vivid illustrations of the often frictional, at times turbulent,
dynamics of the relationship among these co-equal branches. This Court is confronted with one
such today involving the legislature and the judiciary which has drawn legal luminaries to chart
antipodal courses and not a few of our countrymen to vent cacophonous sentiments thereon.
There may indeed be some legitimacy to the characterization that the present controversy
subject of the instant petitions whether the filing of the second impeachment complaint
against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. with the House of Representatives falls within the one
year bar provided in the Constitution, and whether the resolution thereof is a political question
has resulted in a political crisis. Perhaps even more truth to the view that it was brought
upon by a political crisis of conscience. ACaDTH
In any event, it is with the absolute certainty that our Constitution is sufficient to address all the
issues which this controversy spawns that this Court unequivocally pronounces, at the first
instance, that the feared resort to extra-constitutional methods of resolving it is neither
necessary nor legally permissible. Both its resolution and protection of the public interest lie in
adherence to, not departure from, the Constitution. aITECD
In passing over the complex issues arising from the controversy, this Court is ever mindful of
the essential truth that the inviolate doctrine of separation of powers among the legislative,
executive or judicial branches of government by no means prescribes for absolute autonomy in
the discharge by each of that part of the governmental power assigned to it by the sovereign
people.
At the same time, the corollary doctrine of checks and balances which has been carefully
calibrated by the Constitution to temper the official acts of each of these three branches must
be given effect without destroying their indispensable co-equality.
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Taken together, these two fundamental doctrines of republican government, intended as they
are to insure that governmental power is wielded only for the good of the people, mandate a
relationship of interdependence and coordination among these branches where the delicate
functions of enacting, interpreting and enforcing laws are harmonized to achieve a unity of
governance, guided only by what is in the greater interest and well-being of the people. Verily,
salus populi est suprema lex.
Article XI of our present 1987 Constitution provides:
ARTICLE XI
Accountability of Public Officers
SECTION 1. Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be
accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and
efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.
SECTION 2. The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the
Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from
office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason,
bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public
officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by
impeachment. cEDIAa
SECTION 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
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(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the
Senate.
(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office
and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment
according to law.
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section. (Emphasis and italics supplied) STaCIA
Following the above-quoted Section 8 of Article XI of the Constitution, the 12th Congress of the
House of Representatives adopted and approved the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment
Proceedings (House Impeachment Rules) on November 28, 2001, superseding the previous
House Impeachment Rules 1 approved by the 11th Congress. The relevant distinctions between
these two Congresses' House Impeachment Rules are shown in the following tabulation:
11TH CONGRESS RULES 12TH CONGRESS NEW RULES

RULE II RULE V
INITIATING IMPEACHMENT BAR AGAINST INITIATION
OF IMPEACHMENT
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST
THE SAME OFFICIAL

Section 2. Mode of Initiating Section 16. Impeachment Proceedings
Impeachment. Impeachment Deemed Initiated. In cases where a
shall be initiated only by a verified Member of the House files a verified
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complaint for impeachment filed by complaint of impeachment or a citizen
any Member of the House of files a verified complaint that is endorsed
Representatives or by any citizen upon by a Member of the House through a
a resolution of endorsement by any resolution of endorsement against an
Member thereof or by a verified impeachable officer, impeachment
complaint or resolution of impeachment proceedings against such official are
filed by at least one-third (1/3) of all deemed initiated on the day the
the Members of the House. Committee on Justice finds that the
verified complaint and/or resolution
against such official, as the case may
be, is sufficient in substance, or on the
date the House votes to overturn or
affirm the finding of the said
Committee that the verified complaint
and/or resolution, as the case may
be, is not sufficient in substance.

In cases where a verified complaint or a
resolution of impeachment is filed or
endorsed, as the case may be, by at least one-
third (1/3) of the Members of the House,
impeachment proceedings are deemed
initiated at the time of the filing of such
verified complaint or resolution of
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impeachment with the Secretary General.

RULE V
BAR AGAINST IMPEACHMENT

Section 14. Scope of Bar. No Section 17. Bar Against Initiation Of
impeachment proceedings shall be Impeachment Proceedings. Within a
initiated against the same official more period of one (1) year from the date
than once within the period of one impeachment proceedings are deemed
(1) year. initiated as provided in Section 16 hereof,
no impeachment proceedings, as such,
can be initiated against the same official.
(Italics in the original; emphasis and
italics supplied)
On July 22, 2002, the House of Representatives adopted a Resolution, 2 sponsored by
Representative Felix William D. Fuentebella, which directed the Committee on Justice "to
conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the manner of disbursements and
expenditures by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Judiciary Development Fund
(JDF)." 3
On June 2, 2003, former President Joseph E. Estrada filed an impeachment complaint 4 (first
impeachment complaint) against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr. and seven Associate Justices
5 of this Court for "culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of the public trust and other
high crimes." 6 The complaint was endorsed by Representatives Rolex T. Suplico, Ronaldo B.
Zamora and Didagen Piang Dilangalen, 7 and was referred to the House Committee on Justice
on August 5, 2003 8 in accordance with Section 3(2) of Article XI of the Constitution which
reads: HSTCcD
Section 3(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
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proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
The House Committee on Justice ruled on October 13, 2003 that the first impeachment
complaint was "sufficient in form," 9 but voted to dismiss the same on October 22, 2003 for
being insufficient in substance. 10 To date, the Committee Report to this effect has not yet
been sent to the House in plenary in accordance with the said Section 3(2) of Article XI of the
Constitution.
Four months and three weeks since the filing on June 2, 2003 of the first complaint or on
October 23, 2003, a day after the House Committee on Justice voted to dismiss it, the second
impeachment complaint 11 was filed with the Secretary General of the House 12 by
Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. (First District, Tarlac) and Felix William B. Fuentebella
(Third District, Camarines Sur) against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., founded on the alleged
results of the legislative inquiry initiated by above-mentioned House Resolution. This second
impeachment complaint was accompanied by a "Resolution of Endorsement/Impeachment"
signed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House of Representatives. 13
Thus arose the instant petitions against the House of Representatives, et al., most of which
petitions contend that the filing of the second impeachment complaint is unconstitutional as it
violates the provision of Section 5 of Article XI of the Constitution that "[n]o impeachment
proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one
year." aSEDHC
In G.R. No. 160261, petitioner Atty. Ernesto B. Francisco, Jr., alleging that he has a duty as a
member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to use all available legal remedies to stop an
unconstitutional impeachment, that the issues raised in his petition for Certiorari, Prohibition
and Mandamus are of transcendental importance, and that he "himself was a victim of the
capricious and arbitrary changes in the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings
introduced by the 12th Congress," 14 posits that his right to bring an impeachment complaint
against then Ombudsman Aniano Desierto had been violated due to the capricious and
arbitrary changes in the House Impeachment Rules adopted and approved on November 28,
2001 by the House of Representatives and prays that (1) Rule V, Sections 16 and 17 and Rule III,
Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 thereof be declared unconstitutional; (2) this Court issue a writ of
mandamus directing respondents House of Representatives et al. to comply with Article IX,
Section 3 (2), (3) and (5) of the Constitution, to return the second impeachment complaint
and/or strike it off the records of the House of Representatives, and to promulgate rules which
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are consistent with the Constitution; and (3) this Court permanently enjoin respondent House
of Representatives from proceeding with the second impeachment complaint.
In G.R. No. 160262, petitioners Sedfrey M. Candelaria, et al., as citizens and taxpayers, alleging
that the issues of the case are of transcendental importance, pray, in their petition for
Certiorari/Prohibition, the issuance of a writ "perpetually" prohibiting respondent House of
Representatives from filing any Articles of Impeachment against the Chief Justice with the
Senate; and for the issuance of a writ "perpetually" prohibiting respondents Senate and Senate
President Franklin Drilon from accepting any Articles of Impeachment against the Chief Justice
or, in the event that the Senate has accepted the same, from proceeding with the impeachment
trial.
In G.R. No. 160263, petitioners Arturo M. de Castro and Soledad Cagampang, as citizens,
taxpayers, lawyers and members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, alleging that their
petition for Prohibition involves public interest as it involves the use of public funds necessary
to conduct the impeachment trial on the second impeachment complaint, pray for the issuance
of a writ of prohibition enjoining Congress from conducting further proceedings on said second
impeachment complaint.
In G.R. No. 160277, petitioner Francisco I. Chavez, alleging that this Court has recognized that
he has locus standi to bring petitions of this nature in the cases of Chavez v. PCGG 15 and
Chavez v. PEA-Amari Coastal Bay Development Corporation, 16 prays in his petition for
Injunction that the second impeachment complaint be declared unconstitutional.
In G.R. No. 160292, petitioners Atty. Harry L. Roque, et al., as taxpayers and members of the
legal profession, pray in their petition for Prohibition for an order prohibiting respondent House
of Representatives from drafting, adopting, approving and transmitting to the Senate the
second impeachment complaint, and respondents De Venecia and Nazareno from transmitting
the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. ESCTaA
In G.R. No. 160295, petitioners Representatives Salacnib F. Baterina and Deputy Speaker Raul
M. Gonzalez, alleging that, as members of the House of Representatives, they have a legal
interest in ensuring that only constitutional impeachment proceedings are initiated, pray in
their petition for Certiorari/Prohibition that the second impeachment complaint and any act
proceeding therefrom be declared null and void.
In G.R. No. 160310, petitioners Leonilo R. Alfonso, et al., claiming that they have a right to be
protected against all forms of senseless spending of taxpayers money and that they have an
obligation to protect the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice, and the integrity of the Judiciary,
allege in their petition for Certiorari and Prohibition that it is instituted as "a class suit" and pray
that (1) the House Resolution endorsing the second impeachment complaint as well as all
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issuances emanating therefrom be declared null and void; and (2) this Court enjoin the Senate
and the Senate President from taking cognizance of, hearing, trying and deciding the second
impeachment complaint, and issue a writ of prohibition commanding the Senate, its
prosecutors and agents to desist from conducting any proceedings or to act on the
impeachment complaint.
In G.R. No. 160318, petitioner Public Interest Center, Inc., whose members are citizens and
taxpayers, and its co-petitioner Crispin T. Reyes, a citizen, taxpayer and a member of the
Philippine Bar, both allege in their petition, which does not state what its nature is, that the
filing of the second impeachment complaint involves paramount public interest and pray that
Sections 16 and 17 of the House Impeachment Rules and the second impeachment
complaint/Articles of Impeachment be declared null and void.
In G.R. No. 160342, petitioner Atty. Fernando P. R. Perito, as a citizen and a member of the
Philippine Bar Association and of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and petitioner Engr.
Maximo N. Menez, Jr., as a taxpayer, pray in their petition for the issuance of a Temporary
Restraining Order and Permanent Injunction to enjoin the House of Representatives from
proceeding with the second impeachment complaint.
In G.R. No. 160343, petitioner Integrated Bar of the Philippines, alleging that it is mandated by
the Code of Professional Responsibility to uphold the Constitution, prays in its petition for
Certiorari and Prohibition that Sections 16 and 17 of Rule V and Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of Rule III
of the House Impeachment Rules be declared unconstitutional and that the House of
Representatives be permanently enjoined from proceeding with the second impeachment
complaint. CTAIHc
In G.R. No. 160360, petitioner-taxpayer Atty. Claro Flores prays in his petition for Certiorari and
Prohibition that the House Impeachment Rules be declared unconstitutional.
In G.R. No. 160365, petitioners U.P. Law Alumni Cebu Foundation Inc., et al., in their petition for
Prohibition and Injunction which they claim is a class suit filed in behalf of all citizens, citing
Oposa v. Factoran 17 which was filed in behalf of succeeding generations of Filipinos, pray for
the issuance of a writ prohibiting respondents House of Representatives and the Senate from
conducting further proceedings on the second impeachment complaint and that this Court
declare as unconstitutional the second impeachment complaint and the acts of respondent
House of Representatives in interfering with the fiscal matters of the Judiciary.
In G.R. No. 160370, petitioner-taxpayer Father Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, alleging that the
issues in his petition for Prohibition are of national and transcendental significance and that as
an official of the Philippine Judicial Academy, he has a direct and substantial interest in the
unhampered operation of the Supreme Court and its officials in discharging their duties in
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accordance with the Constitution, prays for the issuance of a writ prohibiting the House of
Representatives from transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate and the Senate
from receiving the same or giving the impeachment complaint due course.
In G.R. No. 160376, petitioner Nilo A. Malanyaon, as a taxpayer, alleges in his petition for
Prohibition that respondents Fuentebella and Teodoro at the time they filed the second
impeachment complaint, were "absolutely without any legal power to do so, as they acted
without jurisdiction as far as the Articles of Impeachment assail the alleged abuse of powers of
the Chief Justice to disburse the (JDF)."
In G.R. No. 160392, petitioners Attorneys Venicio S. Flores and Hector L. Hofilea, alleging that
as professors of law they have an abiding interest in the subject matter of their petition for
Certiorari and Prohibition as it pertains to a constitutional issue "which they are trying to
inculcate in the minds of their students," pray that the House of Representatives be enjoined
from endorsing and the Senate from trying the Articles of Impeachment and that the second
impeachment complaint be declared null and void.
In G.R. No. 160397, petitioner Atty. Dioscoro Vallejos, Jr., without alleging his locus standi, but
alleging that the second impeachment complaint is founded on the issue of whether or not the
Judicial Development Fund (JDF) was spent in accordance with law and that the House of
Representatives does not have exclusive jurisdiction in the examination and audit thereof,
prays in his petition "To Declare Complaint Null and Void for Lack of Cause of Action and
Jurisdiction" that the second impeachment complaint be declared null and void. CHDAaS
In G.R. No. 160403, petitioner Philippine Bar Association, alleging that the issues raised in the
filing of the second impeachment complaint involve matters of transcendental importance,
prays in its petition for Certiorari/Prohibition that (1) the second impeachment complaint and
all proceedings arising therefrom be declared null and void; (2) respondent House of
Representatives be prohibited from transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate;
and (3) respondent Senate be prohibited from accepting the Articles of Impeachment and from
conducting any proceedings thereon.
In G.R. No. 160405, petitioners Democrit C. Barcenas, et al., as citizens and taxpayers, pray in
their petition for Certiorari/Prohibition that (1) the second impeachment complaint as well as
the resolution of endorsement and impeachment by the respondent House of Representatives
be declared null and void and (2) respondents Senate and Senate President Franklin Drilon be
prohibited from accepting any Articles of Impeachment against the Chief Justice or, in the event
that they have accepted the same, that they be prohibited from proceeding with the
impeachment trial.
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Petitions bearing docket numbers G.R. Nos. 160261, 160262 and 160263, the first three of the
eighteen which were filed before this Court, 18 prayed for the issuance of a Temporary
Restraining Order and/or preliminary injunction to prevent the House of Representatives from
transmitting the Articles of Impeachment arising from the second impeachment complaint to
the Senate. Petition bearing docket number G.R. No. 160261 likewise prayed for the declaration
of the November 28, 2001 House Impeachment Rules as null and void for being
unconstitutional.
Petitions bearing docket numbers G.R. Nos. 160277, 160292 and 160295, which were filed on
October 28, 2003, sought similar relief. In addition, petition bearing docket number G.R. No.
160292 alleged that House Resolution No. 260 (calling for a legislative inquiry into the
administration by the Chief Justice of the JDF) infringes on the constitutional doctrine of
separation of powers and is a direct violation of the constitutional principle of fiscal autonomy
of the judiciary.
On October 28, 2003, during the plenary session of the House of Representatives, a motion was
put forth that the second impeachment complaint be formally transmitted to the Senate, but it
was not carried because the House of Representatives adjourned for lack of quorum, 19 and as
reflected above, to date, the Articles of Impeachment have yet to be forwarded to the Senate.
TEHDIA
Before acting on the petitions with prayers for temporary restraining order and/or writ of
preliminary injunction which were filed on or before October 28, 2003, Justices Puno and Vitug
offered to recuse themselves, but the Court rejected their offer. Justice Panganiban inhibited
himself, but the Court directed him to participate.
Without necessarily giving the petitions due course, this Court in its Resolution of October 28,
2003, resolved to (a) consolidate the petitions; (b) require respondent House of
Representatives and the Senate, as well as the Solicitor General, to comment on the petitions
not later than 4:30 p.m. of November 3, 2003; (c) set the petitions for oral arguments on
November 5, 2003, at 10:00 a.m.; and (d) appointed distinguished legal experts as amici curiae.
20 In addition, this Court called on petitioners and respondents to maintain the status quo,
enjoining all the parties and others acting for and in their behalf to refrain from committing acts
that would render the petitions moot.
Also on October 28, 2003, when respondent House of Representatives through Speaker Jose C.
De Venecia, Jr. and/or its co-respondents, by way of special appearance, submitted a
Manifestation asserting that this Court has no jurisdiction to hear, much less prohibit or enjoin
the House of Representatives, which is an independent and co-equal branch of government
under the Constitution, from the performance of its constitutionally mandated duty to initiate
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impeachment cases. On even date, Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., in his own behalf, filed a
Motion to Intervene (Ex Abudante Cautela) 21 and Comment, praying that "the consolidated
petitions be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction of the Court over the issues affecting the
impeachment proceedings and that the sole power, authority and jurisdiction of the Senate as
the impeachment court to try and decide impeachment cases, including the one where the
Chief Justice is the respondent, be recognized and upheld pursuant to the provisions of Article
XI of the Constitution." 22
Acting on the other petitions which were subsequently filed, this Court resolved to (a)
consolidate them with the earlier consolidated petitions; (b) require respondents to file their
comment not later than 4:30 p.m. of November 3, 2003; and (c) include them for oral
arguments on November 5, 2003.
On October 29, 2003, the Senate of the Philippines, through Senate President Franklin M.
Drilon, filed a Manifestation stating that insofar as it is concerned, the petitions are plainly
premature and have no basis in law or in fact, adding that as of the time of the filing of the
petitions, no justiciable issue was presented before it since (1) its constitutional duty to
constitute itself as an impeachment court commences only upon its receipt of the Articles of
Impeachment, which it had not, and (2) the principal issues raised by the petitions pertain
exclusively to the proceedings in the House of Representatives. LibLex
On October 30, 2003, Atty. Jaime Soriano filed a "Petition for Leave to Intervene" in G.R. Nos.
160261, 160262, 160263, 160277, 160292, and 160295, questioning the status quo Resolution
issued by this Court on October 28, 2003 on the ground that it would unnecessarily put
Congress and this Court in a "constitutional deadlock" and praying for the dismissal of all the
petitions as the matter in question is not yet ripe for judicial determination.
On November 3, 2003, Attorneys Romulo B. Macalintal and Pete Quirino Quadra filed in G.R.
No. 160262 a "Motion for Leave of Court to Intervene and to Admit the Herein Incorporated
Petition in Intervention."
On November 4, 2003, Nagmamalasakit na mga Manananggol ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino,
Inc. filed a Motion for Intervention in G.R. No. 160261. On November 5, 2003, World War II
Veterans Legionnaires of the Philippines, Inc. also filed a "Petition-in-Intervention with Leave to
Intervene" in G.R. Nos. 160261, 160262, 160263, 160277, 160292, 160295, and 160310.
The motions for intervention were granted and both Senator Pimentel's Comment and
Attorneys Macalintal and Quadra's Petition in Intervention were admitted.
On November 5-6, 2003, this Court heard the views of the amici curiae and the arguments of
petitioners, intervenors Senator Pimentel and Attorney Makalintal, and Solicitor General
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Alfredo Benipayo on the principal issues outlined in an Advisory issued by this Court on
November 3, 2003, to wit:
Whether the certiorari jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be invoked; who can invoke it; on
what issues and at what time; and whether it should be exercised by this Court at this time.
In discussing these issues, the following may be taken up:
a) locus standi of petitioners;
b) ripeness (prematurity; mootness);
c) political question/justiciability;
d) House's "exclusive" power to initiate all cases of impeachment;
e) Senate's "sole" power to try and decide all cases of impeachment; aTADCE
f) constitutionality of the House Rules on Impeachment vis-a-vis Section 3(5) of Article XI
of the Constitution; and
g) judicial restraint (Italics in the original)
In resolving the intricate conflux of preliminary and substantive issues arising from the instant
petitions as well as the myriad arguments and opinions presented for and against the grant of
the reliefs prayed for, this Court has sifted and determined them to be as follows: (1) the
threshold and novel issue of whether or not the power of judicial review extends to those
arising from impeachment proceedings; (2) whether or not the essential pre-requisites for the
exercise of the power of judicial review have been fulfilled; and (3) the substantive issues yet
remaining. These matters shall now be discussed in seriatim.
Judicial Review
As reflected above, petitioners plead for this Court to exercise the power of judicial review to
determine the validity of the second impeachment complaint.
This Court's power of judicial review is conferred on the judicial branch of the government in
Section 1, Article VIII of our present 1987 Constitution:
SECTION 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts
as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
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has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the government. (Emphasis supplied) aAcDSC
Such power of judicial review was early on exhaustively expounded upon by Justice Jose P.
Laurel in the definitive 1936 case of Angara v. Electoral Commission 23 after the effectivity of
the 1935 Constitution whose provisions, unlike the present Constitution, did not contain the
present provision in Article VIII, Section 1, par. 2 on what judicial power includes. Thus, Justice
Laurel discoursed:
. . . In times of social disquietude or political excitement, the great landmarks of the
Constitution are apt to be forgotten or marred, if not entirely obliterated. In cases of conflict,
the judicial department is the only constitutional organ which can be called upon to determine
the proper allocation of powers between the several departments and among the integral or
constituent units thereof .
As any human production, our Constitution is of course lacking perfection and perfectibility, but
as much as it was within the power of our people, acting through their delegates to so provide,
that instrument which is the expression of their sovereignty however limited, has established a
republican government intended to operate and function as a harmonious whole, under a
system of checks and balances, and subject to specific limitations and restrictions provided in
the said instrument. The Constitution sets forth in no uncertain language the restrictions and
limitations upon governmental powers and agencies. If these restrictions and limitations are
transcended it would be inconceivable if the Constitution had not provided for a mechanism by
which to direct the course of government along constitutional channels, for then the
distribution of powers would be mere verbiage, the bill of rights mere expressions of sentiment,
and the principles of good government mere political apothegms. Certainly, the limitations and
restrictions embodied in our Constitution are real as they should be in any living constitution. In
the United States where no express constitutional grant is found in their constitution, the
possession of this moderating power of the courts, not to speak of its historical origin and
development there, has been set at rest by popular acquiescence for a period of more than one
and a half centuries. In our case, this moderating power is granted, if not expressly, by clear
implication from section 2 of article VIII of our Constitution. IAETDc
The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature,
scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality
of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality
nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation
assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the
Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
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instrument secures and guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed
"judicial supremacy" which properly is the power of judicial review under the Constitution. Even
then, this power of judicial review is limited to actual cases and controversies to be exercised
after full opportunity of argument by the parties, and limited further to the constitutional
question raised or the very lis mota presented. Any attempt at abstraction could only lead to
dialectics and barren legal questions and to sterile conclusions unrelated to actualities.
Narrowed as its function is in this manner, the judiciary does not pass upon questions of
wisdom, justice or expediency of legislation. More than that, courts accord the presumption of
constitutionality to legislative enactments, not only because the legislature is presumed to
abide by the Constitution but also because the judiciary in the determination of actual cases
and controversies must reflect the wisdom and justice of the people as expressed through their
representatives in the executive and legislative departments of the government. 24 (Italics in
the original; emphasis and italics supplied)
As pointed out by Justice Laurel, this "moderating power" to "determine the proper allocation
of powers" of the different branches of government and "to direct the course of government
along constitutional channels" is inherent in all courts 25 as a necessary consequence of the
judicial power itself, which is "the power of the court to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable." 26
Thus, even in the United States where the power of judicial review is not explicitly conferred
upon the courts by its Constitution, such power has "been set at rest by popular acquiescence
for a period of more than one and a half centuries." To be sure, it was in the 1803 leading case
of Marbury v. Madison 27 that the power of judicial review was first articulated by Chief Justice
Marshall, to wit:
It is also not entirely unworthy of observation, that in declaring what shall be the supreme law
of the land, the constitution itself is first mentioned; and not the laws of the United States
generally, but those only which shall be made in pursuance of the constitution, have that rank.
Thus, the particular phraseology of the constitution of the United States confirms and
strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law
repugnant to the constitution is void; and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound
by that instrument. 28 (Italics in the original; emphasis supplied) DAETcC
In our own jurisdiction, as early as 1902, decades before its express grant in the 1935
Constitution, the power of judicial review was exercised by our courts to invalidate
constitutionally infirm acts. 29 And as pointed out by noted political law professor and former
Supreme Court Justice Vicente V. Mendoza, 30 the executive and legislative branches of our
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government in fact effectively acknowledged this power of judicial review in Article 7 of the
Civil Code, to wit:
Article 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or non-
observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary.
When the courts declare a law to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the former shall be void
and the latter shall govern.
Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid only when they are not
contrary to the laws or the Constitution. (Emphasis supplied)
As indicated in Angara v. Electoral Commission, 31 judicial review is indeed an integral
component of the delicate system of checks and balances which, together with the corollary
principle of separation of powers, forms the bedrock of our republican form of government and
insures that its vast powers are utilized only for the benefit of the people for which it serves.
The separation of powers is a fundamental principle in our system of government. It obtains
not through express provision but by actual division in our Constitution. Each department of the
government has exclusive cognizance of matters within its jurisdiction, and is supreme within
its own sphere. But it does not follow from the fact that the three powers are to be kept
separate and distinct that the Constitution intended them to be absolutely unrestrained and
independent of each other. The Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks
and balances to secure coordination in the workings of the various departments of the
government. . . . And the judiciary in turn, with the Supreme Court as the final arbiter,
effectively checks the other departments in the exercise of its power to determine the law, and
hence to declare executive and legislative acts void if violative of the Constitution. 32 (Emphasis
and italics supplied) THaAEC
In the scholarly estimation of former Supreme Court Justice Florentino Feliciano, ". . . judicial
review is essential for the maintenance and enforcement of the separation of powers and the
balancing of powers among the three great departments of government through the definition
and maintenance of the boundaries of authority and control between them." 33 To him,
"[j]udicial review is the chief, indeed the only, medium of participation or instrument of
intervention of the judiciary in that balancing operation." 34
To ensure the potency of the power of judicial review to curb grave abuse of discretion by "any
branch or instrumentalities of government," the afore-quoted Section 1, Article VIII of the
Constitution engraves, for the first time into its history, into block letter law the so-called
"expanded certiorari jurisdiction" of this Court, the nature of and rationale for which are
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mirrored in the following excerpt from the sponsorship speech of its proponent, former Chief
Justice Constitutional Commissioner Roberto Concepcion:
xxx xxx xxx
The first section starts with a sentence copied from former Constitutions. It says:
The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
I suppose nobody can question it.
The next provision is new in our constitutional law. I will read it first and explain.
Judicial power includes the duty of courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part or
instrumentality of the government.
Fellow Members of this Commission, this is actually a product of our experience during martial
law. As a matter of fact, it has some antecedents in the past, but the role of the judiciary during
the deposed regime was marred considerably by the circumstance that in a number of cases
against the government, which then had no legal defense at all, the solicitor general set up the
defense of political questions and got away with it. As a consequence, certain principles
concerning particularly the writ of habeas corpus, that is, the authority of courts to order the
release of political detainees, and other matters related to the operation and effect of martial
law failed because the government set up the defense of political question. And the Supreme
Court said: "Well, since it is political, we have no authority to pass upon it." The Committee on
the Judiciary feels that this was not a proper solution of the questions involved. It did not
merely request an encroachment upon the rights of the people, but it, in effect, encouraged
further violations thereof during the martial law regime. . . .
xxx xxx xxx
Briefly stated, courts of justice determine the limits of power of the agencies and offices of the
government as well as those of its officers. In other words, the judiciary is the final arbiter on
the question whether or not a branch of government or any of its officials has acted without
jurisdiction or in excess of jurisdiction, or so capriciously as to constitute an abuse of discretion
amounting to excess of jurisdiction or lack of jurisdiction. This is not only a judicial power but a
duty to pass judgment on matters of this nature. AIDSTE
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This is the background of paragraph 2 of Section 1, which means that the courts cannot
hereafter evade the duty to settle matters of this nature, by claiming that such matters
constitute a political question. 35 (Italics in the original; emphasis and italics supplied)
To determine the merits of the issues raised in the instant petitions, this Court must necessarily
turn to the Constitution itself which employs the well-settled principles of constitutional
construction.
First, verba legis, that is, wherever possible, the words used in the Constitution must be given
their ordinary meaning except where technical terms are employed. Thus, in J.M. Tuason & Co.,
Inc. v. Land Tenure Administration, 36 this Court, speaking through Chief Justice Enrique
Fernando, declared:
We look to the language of the document itself in our search for its meaning. We do not of
course stop there, but that is where we begin. It is to be assumed that the words in which
constitutional provisions are couched express the objective sought to be attained. They are to
be given their ordinary meaning except where technical terms are employed in which case the
significance thus attached to them prevails. As the Constitution is not primarily a lawyer's
document, it being essential for the rule of law to obtain that it should ever be present in the
people's consciousness, its language as much as possible should be understood in the sense
they have in common use. What it says according to the text of the provision to be construed
compels acceptance and negates the power of the courts to alter it, based on the postulate that
the framers and the people mean what they say. Thus these are the cases where the need for
construction is reduced to a minimum. 37 (Emphasis and italics supplied)
Second, where there is ambiguity, ratio legis est anima. The words of the Constitution should
be interpreted in accordance with the intent of its framers. And so did this Court apply this
principle in Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary 38 in this wise: SHTaID
A foolproof yardstick in constitutional construction is the intention underlying the provision
under consideration. Thus, it has been held that the Court in construing a Constitution should
bear in mind the object sought to be accomplished by its adoption, and the evils, if any, sought
to be prevented or remedied. A doubtful provision will be examined in the light of the history of
the times, and the condition and circumstances under which the Constitution was framed. The
object is to ascertain the reason which induced the framers of the Constitution to enact the
particular provision and the purpose sought to be accomplished thereby, in order to construe
the whole as to make the words consonant to that reason and calculated to effect that
purpose. 39 (Emphasis and italics supplied)
As it did in Nitafan v. Commissioner on Internal Revenue 40 where, speaking through Madame
Justice Amuerfina A. Melencio-Herrera, it declared:
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. . . The ascertainment of that intent is but in keeping with the fundamental principle of
constitutional construction that the intent of the framers of the organic law and of the people
adopting it should be given effect. The primary task in constitutional construction is to ascertain
and thereafter assure the realization of the purpose of the framers and of the people in the
adoption of the Constitution. It may also be safely assumed that the people in ratifying the
Constitution were guided mainly by the explanation offered by the framers. 41 (Emphasis and
italics supplied)
Finally, ut magis valeat quam pereat. The Constitution is to be interpreted as a whole. Thus, in
Chiongbian v. De Leon, 42 this Court, through Chief Justice Manuel Moran declared:
. . . [T]he members of the Constitutional Convention could not have dedicated a provision of
our Constitution merely for the benefit of one person without considering that it could also
affect others. When they adopted subsection 2, they permitted, if not willed, that said provision
should function to the full extent of its substance and its terms, not by itself alone, but in
conjunction with all other provisions of that great document. 43 (Emphasis and italics supplied)
Likewise, still in Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary, 44 this Court affirmed that:
It is a well-established rule in constitutional construction that no one provision of the
Constitution is to be separated from all the others, to be considered alone, but that all the
provisions bearing upon a particular subject are to be brought into view and to be so
interpreted as to effectuate the great purposes of the instrument. Sections bearing on a
particular subject should be considered and interpreted together as to effectuate the whole
purpose of the Constitution and one section is not to be allowed to defeat another, if by any
reasonable construction, the two can be made to stand together. DaTISc
In other words, the court must harmonize them, if practicable, and must lean in favor of a
construction which will render every word operative, rather than one which may make the
words idle and nugatory. 45 (Emphasis supplied)
If, however, the plain meaning of the word is not found to be clear, resort to other aids is
available. In still the same case of Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary, this Court
expounded:
While it is permissible in this jurisdiction to consult the debates and proceedings of the
constitutional convention in order to arrive at the reason and purpose of the resulting
Constitution, resort thereto may be had only when other guides fail as said proceedings are
powerless to vary the terms of the Constitution when the meaning is clear. Debates in the
constitutional convention "are of value as showing the views of the individual members, and as
indicating the reasons for their votes, but they give us no light as to the views of the large
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majority who did not talk, much less of the mass of our fellow citizens whose votes at the polls
gave that instrument the force of fundamental law. We think it safer to construe the
constitution from what appears upon its face." The proper interpretation therefore depends
more on how it was understood by the people adopting it than in the framers's understanding
thereof . 46 (Emphasis and italics supplied)
It is in the context of the foregoing backdrop of constitutional refinement and jurisprudential
application of the power of judicial review that respondents Speaker De Venecia, et al. and
intervenor Senator Pimentel raise the novel argument that the Constitution has excluded
impeachment proceedings from the coverage of judicial review.
Briefly stated, it is the position of respondents Speaker De Venecia, et al. that impeachment is a
political action which cannot assume a judicial character. Hence, any question, issue or incident
arising at any stage of the impeachment proceeding is beyond the reach of judicial review. 47
For his part, intervenor Senator Pimentel contends that the Senate's "sole power to try"
impeachment cases 48 (1) entirely excludes the application of judicial review over it; and (2)
necessarily includes the Senates power to determine constitutional questions relative to
impeachment proceedings. 49
In furthering their arguments on the proposition that impeachment proceedings are outside the
scope of judicial review, respondents Speaker De Venecia, et al. and intervenor Senator
Pimentel rely heavily on American authorities, principally the majority opinion in the case of
Nixon v. United States. 50 Thus, they contend that the exercise of judicial review over
impeachment proceedings is inappropriate since it runs counter to the framers' decision to
allocate to different fora the powers to try impeachments and to try crimes; it disturbs the
system of checks and balances, under which impeachment is the only legislative check on the
judiciary; and it would create a lack of finality and difficulty in fashioning relief. 51 Respondents
likewise point to deliberations on the US Constitution to show the intent to isolate judicial
power of review in cases of impeachment.
Respondents' and intervenors' reliance upon American jurisprudence, the American
Constitution and American authorities cannot be credited to support the proposition that the
Senate's "sole power to try and decide impeachment cases," as provided for under Art. XI, Sec.
3(6) of the Constitution, is a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of all issues
pertaining to impeachment to the legislature, to the total exclusion of the power of judicial
review to check and restrain any grave abuse of the impeachment process. Nor can it
reasonably support the interpretation that it necessarily confers upon the Senate the inherently
judicial power to determine constitutional questions incident to impeachment proceedings.
TEcAHI
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Said American jurisprudence and authorities, much less the American Constitution, are of
dubious application for these are no longer controlling within our jurisdiction and have only
limited persuasive merit insofar as Philippine constitutional law is concerned. As held in the
case of Garcia vs. COMELEC , 52 "[i]n resolving constitutional disputes, [this Court] should not
be beguiled by foreign jurisprudence some of which are hardly applicable because they have
been dictated by different constitutional settings and needs." 53 Indeed, although the
Philippine Constitution can trace its origins to that of the United States, their paths of
development have long since diverged. In the colorful words of Father Bernas, "[w]e have cut
the umbilical cord." DHacTC
The major difference between the judicial power of the Philippine Supreme Court and that of
the U.S. Supreme Court is that while the power of judicial review is only impliedly granted to
the U.S. Supreme Court and is discretionary in nature, that granted to the Philippine Supreme
Court and lower courts, as expressly provided for in the Constitution, is not just a power but
also a duty, and it was given an expanded definition to include the power to correct any grave
abuse of discretion on the part of any government branch or instrumentality.
There are also glaring distinctions between the U.S. Constitution and the Philippine Constitution
with respect to the power of the House of Representatives over impeachment proceedings.
While the U.S. Constitution bestows sole power of impeachment to the House of
Representatives without limitation, 54 our Constitution, though vesting in the House of
Representatives the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, 55 provides for several
limitations to the exercise of such power as embodied in Section 3(2), (3), (4) and (5), Article XI
thereof. These limitations include the manner of filing, required vote to impeach, and the one
year bar on the impeachment of one and the same official.
Respondents are also of the view that judicial review of impeachments undermines their finality
and may also lead to conflicts between Congress and the judiciary. Thus, they call upon this
Court to exercise judicial statesmanship on the principle that "whenever possible, the Court
should defer to the judgment of the people expressed legislatively, recognizing full well the
perils of judicial willfulness and pride." 56
But did not the people also express their will when they instituted the above-mentioned
safeguards in the Constitution? This shows that the Constitution did not intend to leave the
matter of impeachment to the sole discretion of Congress. Instead, it provided for certain well-
defined limits, or in the language of Baker v. Carr, 57 "judicially discoverable standards" for
determining the validity of the exercise of such discretion, through the power of judicial review.
SHIcDT
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The cases of Romulo v. Yniguez 58 and Alejandrino v. Quezon, 59 cited by respondents in
support of the argument that the impeachment power is beyond the scope of judicial review,
are not in point. These cases concern the denial of petitions for writs of mandamus to compel
the legislature to perform non-ministerial acts, and do not concern the exercise of the power of
judicial review.
There is indeed a plethora of cases in which this Court exercised the power of judicial review
over congressional action. Thus, in Santiago v. Guingona, Jr., 60 this Court ruled that it is well
within the power and jurisdiction of the Court to inquire whether the Senate or its officials
committed a violation of the Constitution or grave abuse of discretion in the exercise of their
functions and prerogatives. In Taada v. Angara, 61 in seeking to nullify an act of the Philippine
Senate on the ground that it contravened the Constitution, it held that the petition raises a
justiciable controversy and that when an action of the legislative branch is seriously alleged to
have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not only the right but in fact the duty of the
judiciary to settle the dispute. In Bondoc v. Pineda, 62 this Court declared null and void a
resolution of the House of Representatives withdrawing the nomination, and rescinding the
election, of a congressman as a member of the House Electoral Tribunal for being violative of
Section 17, Article VI of the Constitution. In Coseteng v. Mitra, 63 it held that the resolution of
whether the House representation in the Commission on Appointments was based on
proportional representation of the political parties as provided in Section 18, Article VI of the
Constitution is subject to judicial review. In Daza v. Singson, 64 it held that the act of the House
of Representatives in removing the petitioner from the Commission on Appointments is subject
to judicial review. In Taada v. Cuenco, 65 it held that although under the Constitution, the
legislative power is vested exclusively in Congress, this does not detract from the power of the
courts to pass upon the constitutionality of acts of Congress. In Angara v. Electoral Commission,
66 it ruled that confirmation by the National Assembly of the election of any member,
irrespective of whether his election is contested, is not essential before such member-elect may
discharge the duties and enjoy the privileges of a member of the National Assembly.
Finally, there exists no constitutional basis for the contention that the exercise of judicial review
over impeachment proceedings would upset the system of checks and balances. Verily, the
Constitution is to be interpreted as a whole and "one section is not to be allowed to defeat
another." 67 Both are integral components of the calibrated system of independence and
interdependence that insures that no branch of government act beyond the powers assigned to
it by the Constitution. ATHCDa
Essential Requisites for Judicial Review
As clearly stated in Angara v. Electoral Commission, the courts' power of judicial review, like
almost all powers conferred by the Constitution, is subject to several limitations, namely: (1) an
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actual case or controversy calling for the exercise of judicial power; (2) the person challenging
the act must have "standing" to challenge; he must have a personal and substantial interest in
the case such that he has sustained, or will sustain, direct injury as a result of its enforcement;
(3) the question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity; and (4)
the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case.
. . . Even then, this power of judicial review is limited to actual cases and controversies to be
exercised after full opportunity of argument by the parties, and limited further to the
constitutional question raised or the very lis mota presented. Any attempt at abstraction could
only lead to dialectics and barren legal questions and to sterile conclusions unrelated to
actualities. Narrowed as its function is in this manner, the judiciary does not pass upon
questions of wisdom, justice or expediency of legislation. More than that, courts accord the
presumption of constitutionality to legislative enactments, not only because the legislature is
presumed to abide by the Constitution but also because the judiciary in the determination of
actual cases and controversies must reflect the wisdom and justice of the people as expressed
through their representatives in the executive and legislative departments of the government.
68 (Italics in the original)
Standing
Locus standi or legal standing or has been defined as a personal and substantial interest in the
case such that the party has sustained or will sustain direct injury as a result of the
governmental act that is being challenged. The gist of the question of standing is whether a
party alleges such personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete
adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court depends for
illumination of difficult constitutional questions. 69
Intervenor Soriano, in praying for the dismissal of the petitions, contends that petitioners do
not have standing since only the Chief Justice has sustained and will sustain direct personal
injury. Amicus curiae former Justice Minister and Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza similarly
contends. HECaTD
Upon the other hand, the Solicitor General asserts that petitioners have standing since this
Court had, in the past, accorded standing to taxpayers, voters, concerned citizens, legislators in
cases involving paramount public interest 70 and transcendental importance, 71 and that
procedural matters are subordinate to the need to determine whether or not the other
branches of the government have kept themselves within the limits of the Constitution and the
laws and that they have not abused the discretion given to them. 72 Amicus curiae Dean Raul
Pangalangan of the U.P. College of Law is of the same opinion, citing transcendental importance
and the well-entrenched rule exception that, when the real party in interest is unable to
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vindicate his rights by seeking the same remedies, as in the case of the Chief Justice who, for
ethical reasons, cannot himself invoke the jurisdiction of this Court, the courts will grant
petitioners standing.
There is, however, a difference between the rule on real-party-in-interest and the rule on
standing, for the former is a concept of civil procedure 73 while the latter has constitutional
underpinnings. 74 In view of the arguments set forth regarding standing, it behooves the Court
to reiterate the ruling in Kilosbayan, Inc. v. Morato 75 to clarify what is meant by locus standi
and to distinguish it from real party-in-interest.
The difference between the rule on standing and real party in interest has been noted by
authorities thus: "It is important to note . . . that standing because of its constitutional and
public policy underpinnings, is very different from questions relating to whether a particular
plaintiff is the real party in interest or has capacity to sue. Although all three requirements are
directed towards ensuring that only certain parties can maintain an action, standing restrictions
require a partial consideration of the merits, as well as broader policy concerns relating to the
proper role of the judiciary in certain areas.
Standing is a special concern in constitutional law because in some cases suits are brought not
by parties who have been personally injured by the operation of a law or by official action
taken, but by concerned citizens, taxpayers or voters who actually sue in the public interest.
Hence the question in standing is whether such parties have "alleged such a personal stake in
the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the
presentation of issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination of difficult
constitutional questions." DTAcIa
xxx xxx xxx
On the other hand, the question as to "real party in interest" is whether he is "the party who
would be benefited or injured by the judgment, or the 'party entitled to the avails of the suit.'"
76 (Citations omitted)
While rights personal to the Chief Justice may have been injured by the alleged unconstitutional
acts of the House of Representatives, none of the petitioners asserts a violation of the personal
rights of the Chief Justice. On the contrary, they invariably invoke the vindication of their own
rights as taxpayers; members of Congress; citizens, individually or in a class suit; and
members of the bar and of the legal profession which were supposedly violated by the
alleged unconstitutional acts of the House of Representatives.
In a long line of cases, however, concerned citizens, taxpayers and legislators when specific
requirements have been met have been given standing by this Court.
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When suing as a citizen, the interest of the petitioner assailing the constitutionality of a statute
must be direct and personal. He must be able to show, not only that the law or any government
act is invalid, but also that he sustained or is in imminent danger of sustaining some direct
injury as a result of its enforcement, and not merely that he suffers thereby in some indefinite
way. It must appear that the person complaining has been or is about to be denied some right
or privilege to which he is lawfully entitled or that he is about to be subjected to some burdens
or penalties by reason of the statute or act complained of. 77 In fine, when the proceeding
involves the assertion of a public right, 78 the mere fact that he is a citizen satisfies the
requirement of personal interest.
In the case of a taxpayer, he is allowed to sue where there is a claim that public funds are
illegally disbursed, or that public money is being deflected to any improper purpose, or that
there is a wastage of public funds through the enforcement of an invalid or unconstitutional
law. 79 Before he can invoke the power of judicial review, however, he must specifically prove
that he has sufficient interest in preventing the illegal expenditure of money raised by taxation
and that he would sustain a direct injury as a result of the enforcement of the questioned
statute or contract. It is not sufficient that he has merely a general interest common to all
members of the public. 80
At all events, courts are vested with discretion as to whether or not a taxpayer's suit should be
entertained. 81 This Court opted to grant standing to most of the petitioners, given their
allegation that any impending transmittal to the Senate of the Articles of Impeachment and the
ensuing trial of the Chief Justice will necessarily involve the expenditure of public funds.
As for a legislator, he is allowed to sue to question the validity of any official action which he
claims infringes his prerogatives as a legislator. 82 Indeed, a member of the House of
Representatives has standing to maintain inviolate the prerogatives, powers and privileges
vested by the Constitution in his office. 83
While an association has legal personality to represent its members, 84 especially when it is
composed of substantial taxpayers and the outcome will affect their vital interests, 85 the mere
invocation by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines or any member of the legal profession of the
duty to preserve the rule of law and nothing more, although undoubtedly true, does not suffice
to clothe it with standing. Its interest is too general. It is shared by other groups and the whole
citizenry. However, a reading of the petition shows that it has advanced constitutional issues
which deserve the attention of this Court in view of their seriousness, novelty and weight as
precedents. 86 It, therefore, behooves this Court to relax the rules on standing and to resolve
the issues presented by it.
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In the same vein, when dealing with class suits filed in behalf of all citizens, persons intervening
must be sufficiently numerous to fully protect the interests of all concerned 87 to enable the
court to deal properly with all interests involved in the suit, 88 for a judgment in a class suit,
whether favorable or unfavorable to the class, is, under the res judicata principle, binding on all
members of the class whether or not they were before the court. 89 Where it clearly appears
that not all interests can be sufficiently represented as shown by the divergent issues raised in
the numerous petitions before this Court, G.R. No. 160365 as a class suit ought to fail. Since
petitioners additionally allege standing as citizens and taxpayers, however, their petition will
stand.
The Philippine Bar Association, in G.R. No. 160403, invokes the sole ground of transcendental
importance, while Atty. Dioscoro U. Vallejos, in G.R. No. 160397, is mum on his standing.
There being no doctrinal definition of transcendental importance, the following determinants
formulated by former Supreme Court Justice Florentino P. Feliciano are instructive: (1) the
character of the funds or other assets involved in the case; (2) the presence of a clear case of
disregard of a constitutional or statutory prohibition by the public respondent agency or
instrumentality of the government; and (3) the lack of any other party with a more direct and
specific interest in raising the questions being raised. 90 Applying these determinants, this
Court is satisfied that the issues raised herein are indeed of transcendental importance.
In not a few cases, this Court has in fact adopted a liberal attitude on the locus standi of a
petitioner where the petitioner is able to craft an issue of transcendental significance to the
people, as when the issues raised are of paramount importance to the public. 91 Such liberality
does not, however, mean that the requirement that a party should have an interest in the
matter is totally eliminated. A party must, at the very least, still plead the existence of such
interest, it not being one of which courts can take judicial notice. In petitioner Vallejos' case, he
failed to allege any interest in the case. He does not thus have standing.
With respect to the motions for intervention, Rule 19, Section 2 of the Rules of Court requires
an intervenor to possess a legal interest in the matter in litigation, or in the success of either of
the parties, or an interest against both, or is so situated as to be adversely affected by a
distribution or other disposition of property in the custody of the court or of an officer thereof.
While intervention is not a matter of right, it may be permitted by the courts when the
applicant shows facts which satisfy the requirements of the law authorizing intervention. 92
In Intervenors Attorneys Romulo Macalintal and Pete Quirino Quadras case, they seek to join
petitioners Candelaria, et al. in G.R. No. 160262. Since, save for one additional issue, they raise
the same issues and the same standing, and no objection on the part of petitioners Candelaria,
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et al. has been interposed, this Court as earlier stated, granted their Motion for Leave of Court
to Intervene and Petition-in-Intervention.
Nagmamalasakit na mga Manananggol ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc., et al. sought to
join petitioner Francisco in G.R. No. 160261. Invoking their right as citizens to intervene,
alleging that "they will suffer if this insidious scheme of the minority members of the House of
Representatives is successful," this Court found the requisites for intervention had been
complied with.
Alleging that the issues raised in the petitions in G.R. Nos. 160261, 160262, 160263, 160277,
160292, 160295, and 160310 are of transcendental importance, World War II Veterans
Legionnaires of the Philippines, Inc. filed a "Petition-in-Intervention with Leave to Intervene" to
raise the additional issue of whether or not the second impeachment complaint against the
Chief Justice is valid and based on any of the grounds prescribed by the Constitution.
Finding that Nagmamalasakit na mga Manananggol ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc., et al.
and World War II Veterans Legionnaires of the Philippines, Inc. possess a legal interest in the
matter in litigation the respective motions to intervene were granted.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel, on the other hand, sought to intervene for the limited purpose of
making of record and arguing a point of view that differs with Senate President Drilon's. He
alleges that submitting to this Court's jurisdiction as the Senate President does will undermine
the independence of the Senate which will sit as an impeachment court once the Articles of
Impeachment are transmitted to it from the House of Representatives. Clearly, Senator
Pimentel possesses a legal interest in the matter in litigation, he being a member of Congress
against which the herein petitions are directed. For this reason, and to fully ventilate all
substantial issues relating to the matter at hand, his Motion to Intervene was granted and he
was, as earlier stated, allowed to argue. IEcDCa
Lastly, as to Jaime N. Soriano's motion to intervene, the same must be denied for, while he
asserts an interest as a taxpayer, he failed to meet the standing requirement for bringing
taxpayer's suits as set forth in Dumlao v. COMELEC, 93 to wit:
. . . While, concededly, the elections to be held involve the expenditure of public moneys,
nowhere in their Petition do said petitioners allege that their tax money is "being extracted and
spent in violation of specific constitutional protection against abuses of legislative power," or
that there is a misapplication of such funds by respondent COMELEC, or that public money is
being deflected to any improper purpose. Neither do petitioners seek to restrain respondent
from wasting public funds through the enforcement of an invalid or unconstitutional law. 94
(Citations omitted)
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In praying for the dismissal of the petitions, Soriano failed even to allege that the act of
petitioners will result in illegal disbursement of public funds or in public money being deflected
to any improper purpose. Additionally, his mere interest as a member of the Bar does not
suffice to clothe him with standing.
Ripeness and Prematurity
In Tan v. Macapagal, 95 this Court, through Chief Justice Fernando, held that for a case to be
considered ripe for adjudication, "it is a prerequisite that something had by then been
accomplished or performed by either branch before a court may come into the picture." 96
Only then may the courts pass on the validity of what was done, if and when the matter is
challenged in an appropriate legal proceeding.
The instant petitions raise in the main the issue of the validity of the filing of the second
impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice in accordance with the House Impeachment
Rules adopted by the 12th Congress, the constitutionality of which is questioned. The
questioned acts having been carried out, i.e., the second impeachment complaint had been
filed with the House of Representatives and the 2001 Rules have already been already
promulgated and enforced, the prerequisite that the alleged unconstitutional act should be
accomplished and performed before suit, as Tan v. Macapagal holds, has been complied with.
Related to the issue of ripeness is the question of whether the instant petitions are premature.
Amicus curiae former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga opines that there may be no urgent
need for this Court to render a decision at this time, it being the final arbiter on questions of
constitutionality anyway. He thus recommends that all remedies in the House and Senate
should first be exhausted.
Taking a similar stand is Dean Raul Pangalangan of the U.P. College of Law who suggests to this
Court to take judicial notice of on-going attempts to encourage signatories to the second
impeachment complaint to withdraw their signatures and opines that the House Impeachment
Rules provide for an opportunity for members to raise constitutional questions themselves
when the Articles of Impeachment are presented on a motion to transmit to the same to the
Senate. The dean maintains that even assuming that the Articles are transmitted to the Senate,
the Chief Justice can raise the issue of their constitutional infirmity by way of a motion to
dismiss.
The dean's position does not persuade. First, the withdrawal by the Representatives of their
signatures would not, by itself, cure the House Impeachment Rules of their constitutional
infirmity. Neither would such a withdrawal, by itself, obliterate the questioned second
impeachment complaint since it would only place it under the ambit of Sections 3(2) and (3) of
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Article XI of the Constitution 97 and, therefore, petitioners would continue to suffer their
injuries.
Second and most importantly, the futility of seeking remedies from either or both Houses of
Congress before coming to this Court is shown by the fact that, as previously discussed, neither
the House of Representatives nor the Senate is clothed with the power to rule with
definitiveness on the issue of constitutionality, whether concerning impeachment proceedings
or otherwise, as said power is exclusively vested in the judiciary by the earlier quoted Section I,
Article VIII of the Constitution. Remedy cannot be sought from a body which is bereft of power
to grant it.
Justiciability
In the leading case of Taada v. Cuenco, 98 Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion defined the term
"political question," viz:
[T]he term "political question" connotes, in legal parlance, what it means in ordinary parlance,
namely, a question of policy. In other words, in the language of Corpus Juris Secundum, it refers
to "those questions which, under the Constitution, are to be decided by the people in their
sovereign capacity, or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been delegated to the
Legislature or executive branch of the Government." It is concerned with issues dependent
upon the wisdom, not legality, of a particular measure. 99 (Italics in the original)
Prior to the 1973 Constitution, without consistency and seemingly without any rhyme or
reason, this Court vacillated on its stance of taking cognizance of cases which involved political
questions. In some cases, this Court hid behind the cover of the political question doctrine and
refused to exercise its power of judicial review. 100 In other cases, however, despite the
seeming political nature of the therein issues involved, this Court assumed jurisdiction
whenever it found constitutionally imposed limits on powers or functions conferred upon
political bodies. 101 Even in the landmark case of Javellana v. Executive Secretary 102 which
raised the issue of whether the 1973 Constitution was ratified, hence, in force, this Court
shunted the political question doctrine and took cognizance thereof. Ratification by the people
of a Constitution is a political question, it being a question decided by the people in their
sovereign capacity.
The frequency with which this Court invoked the political question doctrine to refuse to take
jurisdiction over certain cases during the Marcos regime motivated Chief Justice Concepcion,
when he became a Constitutional Commissioner, to clarify this Court's power of judicial review
and its application on issues involving political questions, viz:
MR. CONCEPCION. Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer.
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I will speak on the judiciary. Practically, everybody has made, I suppose, the usual comment
that the judiciary is the weakest among the three major branches of the service. Since the
legislature holds the purse and the executive the sword, the judiciary has nothing with which to
enforce its decisions or commands except the power of reason and appeal to conscience which,
after all, reflects the will of God, and is the most powerful of all other powers without
exception. . . . And so, with the bodys indulgence, I will proceed to read the provisions drafted
by the Committee on the Judiciary.
The first section starts with a sentence copied from former Constitutions. It says:
The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
I suppose nobody can question it.
The next provision is new in our constitutional law. I will read it first and explain.
Judicial power includes the duty of courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part or
instrumentality of the government.
Fellow Members of this Commission, this is actually a product of our experience during martial
law. As a matter of fact, it has some antecedents in the past, but the role of the judiciary during
the deposed regime was marred considerably by the circumstance that in a number of cases
against the government, which then had no legal defense at all, the solicitor general set up the
defense of political questions and got away with it. As a consequence, certain principles
concerning particularly the writ of habeas corpus, that is, the authority of courts to order the
release of political detainees, and other matters related to the operation and effect of martial
law failed because the government set up the defense of political question. And the Supreme
Court said: "Well, since it is political, we have no authority to pass upon it." The Committee on
the Judiciary feels that this was not a proper solution of the questions involved. It did not
merely request an encroachment upon the rights of the people, but it, in effect, encouraged
further violations thereof during the martial law regime. I am sure the members of the Bar are
familiar with this situation. But for the benefit of the Members of the Commission who are not
lawyers, allow me to explain. I will start with a decision of the Supreme Court in 1973 on the
case of Javellana vs. the Secretary of Justice, if I am not mistaken. Martial law was announced
on September 22, although the proclamation was dated September 21. The obvious reason for
the delay in its publication was that the administration had apprehended and detained
prominent newsmen on September 21. So that when martial law was announced on September
22, the media hardly published anything about it. In fact, the media could not publish any story
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not only because our main writers were already incarcerated, but also because those who
succeeded them in their jobs were under mortal threat of being the object of wrath of the
ruling party. The 1971 Constitutional Convention had begun on June 1, 1971 and by September
21 or 22 had not finished the Constitution; it had barely agreed in the fundamentals of the
Constitution. I forgot to say that upon the proclamation of martial law, some delegates to that
1971 Constitutional Convention, dozens of them, were picked up. One of them was our very
own colleague, Commissioner Calderon. So, the unfinished draft of the Constitution was taken
over by representatives of Malacaang. In 17 days, they finished what the delegates to the
1971 Constitutional Convention had been unable to accomplish for about 14 months. The draft
of the 1973 Constitution was presented to the President around December 1, 1972, whereupon
the President issued a decree calling a plebiscite which suspended the operation of some
provisions in the martial law decree which prohibited discussions, much less public discussions
of certain matters of public concern. The purpose was presumably to allow a free discussion on
the draft of the Constitution on which a plebiscite was to be held sometime in January 1973. If I
may use a word famous by our colleague, Commissioner Ople, during the interregnum,
however, the draft of the Constitution was analyzed and criticized with such a telling effect that
Malacaang felt the danger of its approval. So, the President suspended indefinitely the holding
of the plebiscite and announced that he would consult the people in a referendum to be held
from January 10 to January 15. But the questions to be submitted in the referendum were not
announced until the eve of its scheduled beginning, under the supposed supervision not of the
Commission on Elections, but of what was then designated as "citizens assemblies or
barangays." Thus the barangays came into existence. The questions to be propounded were
released with proposed answers thereto, suggesting that it was unnecessary to hold a plebiscite
because the answers given in the referendum should be regarded as the votes cast in the
plebiscite. Thereupon, a motion was filed with the Supreme Court praying that the holding of
the referendum be suspended. When the motion was being heard before the Supreme Court,
the Minister of Justice delivered to the Court a proclamation of the President declaring that the
new Constitution was already in force because the overwhelming majority of the votes cast in
the referendum favored the Constitution. Immediately after the departure of the Minister of
Justice, I proceeded to the session room where the case was being heard. I then informed the
Court and the parties the presidential proclamation declaring that the 1973 Constitution had
been ratified by the people and is now in force.
A number of other cases were filed to declare the presidential proclamation null and void. The
main defense put up by the government was that the issue was a political question and that the
court had no jurisdiction to entertain the case.
xxx xxx xxx
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The government said that in a referendum held from January 10 to January 15, the vast
majority ratified the draft of the Constitution. Note that all members of the Supreme Court
were residents of Manila, but none of them had been notified of any referendum in their
respective places of residence, much less did they participate in the alleged referendum. None
of them saw any referendum proceeding.
In the Philippines, even local gossips spread like wild fire. So, a majority of the members of the
Court felt that there had been no referendum.
Second, a referendum cannot substitute for a plebiscite. There is a big difference between a
referendum and a plebiscite. But another group of justices upheld the defense that the issue
was a political question. Whereupon, they dismissed the case. This is not the only major case in
which the plea of "political question" was set up. There have been a number of other cases in
the past.
. . . The defense of the political question was rejected because the issue was clearly justiciable.
xxx xxx xxx
. . . When your Committee on the Judiciary began to perform its functions, it faced the
following questions: What is judicial power? What is a political question?
The Supreme Court, like all other courts, has one main function: to settle actual controversies
involving conflicts of rights which are demandable and enforceable. There are rights which are
guaranteed by law but cannot be enforced by a judiciary party. In a decided case, a husband
complained that his wife was unwilling to perform her duties as a wife. The Court said: "We can
tell your wife what her duties as such are and that she is bound to comply with them, but we
cannot force her physically to discharge her main marital duty to her husband. There are some
rights guaranteed by law, but they are so personal that to enforce them by actual compulsion
would be highly derogatory to human dignity."
This is why the first part of the second paragraph of Section I provides that:
Judicial power includes the duty of courts to settle actual controversies involving rights which
are legally demandable or enforceable . . .
The courts, therefore, cannot entertain, much less decide, hypothetical questions. In a
presidential system of government, the Supreme Court has, also another important function.
The powers of government are generally considered divided into three branches: the
Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary. Each one is supreme within its own sphere and
independent of the others. Because of that supremacy power to determine whether a given
law is valid or not is vested in courts of justice.
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Briefly stated, courts of justice determine the limits of power of the agencies and offices of the
government as well as those of its officers. In other words, the judiciary is the final arbiter on
the question whether or not a branch of government or any of its officials has acted without
jurisdiction or in excess of jurisdiction, or so capriciously as to constitute an abuse of discretion
amounting to excess of jurisdiction or lack of jurisdiction. This is not only a judicial power but a
duty to pass judgment on matters of this nature.
This is the background of paragraph 2 of Section 1, which means that the courts cannot
hereafter evade the duty to settle matters of this nature, by claiming that such matters
constitute a political question.
I have made these extended remarks to the end that the Commissioners may have an initial
food for thought on the subject of the judiciary. 103 (Italics in the original; emphasis supplied)
During the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, Chief Justice Concepcion further
clarified the concept of judicial power, thus:
MR. NOLLEDO. The Gentleman used the term "judicial power" but judicial power is not vested
in the Supreme Court alone but also in other lower courts as may be created by law.
MR. CONCEPCION. Yes.
MR. NOLLEDO. And so, is this only an example?
MR. CONCEPCION. No, I know this is not. The Gentleman seems to identify political questions
with jurisdictional questions. But there is a difference.
MR. NOLLEDO. Because of the expression "judicial power"?
MR. CONCEPCION. No. Judicial power, as I said, refers to ordinary cases but where there is a
question as to whether the government had authority or had abused its authority to the extent
of lacking jurisdiction or excess of jurisdiction, that is not a political question. Therefore, the
court has the duty to decide.
xxx xxx xxx
FR. BERNAS. Ultimately, therefore, it will always have to be decided by the Supreme Court
according to the new numerical need for votes.
On another point, is it the intention of Section 1 to do away with the political question
doctrine?
MR. CONCEPCION. No.
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FR. BERNAS. It is not.
MR. CONCEPCION. No, because whenever there is an abuse of discretion, amounting to a lack
of jurisdiction . . .
FR. BERNAS. So, I am satisfied with the answer that it is not intended to do away with the
political question doctrine.
MR. CONCEPCION. No, certainly not.
When this provision was originally drafted, it sought to define what is judicial power. But the
Gentleman will notice it says, "judicial power includes" and the reason being that the definition
that we might make may not cover all possible areas.
FR. BERNAS. So, this is not an attempt to solve the problems arising from the political question
doctrine.
MR. CONCEPCION. It definitely does not eliminate the fact that truly political questions are
beyond the pale of judicial power. 104 (Emphasis supplied)
From the foregoing record of the proceedings of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, it is clear
that judicial power is not only a power; it is also a duty, a duty which cannot be abdicated by
the mere specter of this creature called the political question doctrine. Chief Justice Concepcion
hastened to clarify, however, that Section 1, Article VIII was not intended to do away with "truly
political questions." From this clarification it is gathered that there are two species of political
questions: (1) "truly political questions" and (2) those which "are not truly political questions."
Truly political questions are thus beyond judicial review, the reason being that respect for the
doctrine of separation of powers must be maintained. On the other hand, by virtue of Section
1, Article VIII of the Constitution, courts can review questions which are not truly political in
nature.
As pointed out by amicus curiae former dean Pacifico Agabin of the UP College of Law, this
Court has in fact in a number of cases taken jurisdiction over questions which are not truly
political following the effectivity of the present Constitution.
In Marcos v. Manglapus, 105 this Court, speaking through Madame Justice Irene Cortes, held:
The present Constitution limits resort to the political question doctrine and broadens the scope
of judicial inquiry into areas which the Court, under previous constitutions, would have
normally left to the political departments to decide. 106 . . .
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In Bengzon v. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, 107 through Justice Teodoro Padilla, this Court
declared:
The "allocation of constitutional boundaries" is a task that this Court must perform under the
Constitution. Moreover, as held in a recent case, "(t)he political question doctrine neither
interposes an obstacle to judicial determination of the rival claims. The jurisdiction to delimit
constitutional boundaries has been given to this Court. It cannot abdicate that obligation
mandated by the 1987 Constitution, although said provision by no means does away with the
applicability of the principle in appropriate cases." 108 (Emphasis and italics supplied)
And in Daza v. Singson, 109 speaking through Justice Isagani Cruz, this Court ruled:
In the case now before us, the jurisdictional objection becomes even less tenable and decisive.
The reason is that, even if we were to assume that the issue presented before us was political in
nature, we would still not be precluded from resolving it under the expanded jurisdiction
conferred upon us that now covers, in proper cases, even the political question. 110 . . .
(Emphasis and italics supplied.)
Section 1, Article VIII, of the Court does not define what are justiciable political questions and
non-justiciable political questions, however. Identification of these two species of political
questions may be problematic. There has been no clear standard. The American case of Baker v.
Carr 111 attempts to provide some:
. . . Prominent on the surface of any case held to involve a political question is found a textually
demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; or a
lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; or the impossibility of
deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for non-judicial discretion; or
the impossibility of a courts undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the
respect due coordinate branches of government; or an unusual need for questioning adherence
to a political decision already made; or the potentiality of embarrassment from multifarious
pronouncements by various departments on one question. 112 (emphasis supplied)
Of these standards, the more reliable have been the first three: (1) a textually demonstrable
constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; (2) the lack of
judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; and (3) the impossibility of
deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for non-judicial discretion.
These standards are not separate and distinct concepts but are interrelated to each in that the
presence of one strengthens the conclusion that the others are also present.
The problem in applying the foregoing standards is that the American concept of judicial review
is radically different from our current concept, for Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution
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provides our courts with far less discretion in determining whether they should pass upon a
constitutional issue.
In our jurisdiction, the determination of a truly political question from a non-justiciable political
question lies in the answer to the question of whether there are constitutionally imposed limits
on powers or functions conferred upon political bodies. If there are, then our courts are duty-
bound to examine whether the branch or instrumentality of the government properly acted
within such limits. This Court shall thus now apply this standard to the present controversy.
These petitions raise five substantial issues:
I. Whether the offenses alleged in the Second impeachment complaint constitute valid
impeachable offenses under the Constitution.
II. Whether the second impeachment complaint was filed in accordance with Section 3(4),
Article XI of the Constitution.
III. Whether the legislative inquiry by the House Committee on Justice into the Judicial
Development Fund is an unconstitutional infringement of the constitutionally mandated fiscal
autonomy of the judiciary.
IV. Whether Sections 15 and 16 of Rule V of the Rules on Impeachment adopted by the
12th Congress are unconstitutional for violating the provisions of Section 3, Article XI of the
Constitution.
V. Whether the second impeachment complaint is barred under Section 3(5) of Article XI of
the Constitution.
The first issue goes into the merits of the second impeachment complaint over which this Court
has no jurisdiction. More importantly, any discussion of this issue would require this Court to
make a determination of what constitutes an impeachable offense. Such a determination is a
purely political question which the Constitution has left to the sound discretion of the
legislation. Such an intent is clear from the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission. 113
Although Section 2 of Article XI of the Constitution enumerates six grounds for impeachment,
two of these, namely, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust, elude a precise definition.
In fact, an examination of the records of the 1986 Constitutional Commission shows that the
framers could find no better way to approximate the boundaries of betrayal of public trust and
other high crimes than by alluding to both positive and negative examples of both, without
arriving at their clear cut definition or even a standard therefor. 114 Clearly, the issue calls
upon this court to decide a non-justiciable political question which is beyond the scope of its
judicial power under Section 1, Article VIII.
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Lis Mota
It is a well-settled maxim of adjudication that an issue assailing the constitutionality of a
governmental act should be avoided whenever possible. Thus, in the case of Sotto v.
Commission on Elections, 115 this Court held:
. . . It is a well-established rule that a court should not pass upon a constitutional question and
decide a law to be unconstitutional or invalid, unless such question is raised by the parties and
that when it is raised, if the record also presents some other ground upon which the court may
rest its judgment, that course will be adopted and the constitutional question will be left for
consideration until a case arises in which a decision upon such question will be unavoidable.
116 [Emphasis and italics supplied]
The same principle was applied in Luz Farms v. Secretary of Agrarian Reform, 117 where this
Court invalidated Sections 13 and 32 of Republic Act No. 6657 for being confiscatory and
violative of due process, to wit:
It has been established that this Court will assume jurisdiction over a constitutional question
only if it is shown that the essential requisites of a judicial inquiry into such a question are first
satisfied. Thus, there must be an actual case or controversy involving a conflict of legal rights
susceptible of judicial determination, the constitutional question must have been opportunely
raised by the proper party, and the resolution of the question is unavoidably necessary to the
decision of the case itself . 118 [Emphasis supplied]
Succinctly put, courts will not touch the issue of constitutionality unless it is truly unavoidable
and is the very lis mota or crux of the controversy.
As noted earlier, the instant consolidated petitions, while all seeking the invalidity of the second
impeachment complaint, collectively raise several constitutional issues upon which the
outcome of this controversy could possibly be made to rest. In determining whether one, some
or all of the remaining substantial issues should be passed upon, this Court is guided by the
related cannon of adjudication that "the court should not form a rule of constitutional law
broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is applied." 119
In G.R. No. 160310, petitioners Leonilo R. Alfonso, et al. argue that, among other reasons, the
second impeachment complaint is invalid since it directly resulted from a Resolution 120 calling
for a legislative inquiry into the JDF, which Resolution and legislative inquiry petitioners claim to
likewise be unconstitutional for being: (a) a violation of the rules and jurisprudence on
investigations in aid of legislation; (b) an open breach of the doctrine of separation of powers;
(c) a violation of the constitutionally mandated fiscal autonomy of the judiciary; and (d) an
assault on the independence of the judiciary. 121
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Without going into the merits of petitioners Alfonso, et al.'s claims, it is the studied opinion of
this Court that the issue of the constitutionality of the said Resolution and resulting legislative
inquiry is too far removed from the issue of the validity of the second impeachment complaint.
Moreover, the resolution of said issue would, in the Court's opinion, require it to form a rule of
constitutional law touching on the separate and distinct matter of legislative inquiries in
general, which would thus be broader than is required by the facts of these consolidated cases.
This opinion is further strengthened by the fact that said petitioners have raised other grounds
in support of their petition which would not be adversely affected by the Court's ruling.
En passant, this Court notes that a standard for the conduct of legislative inquiries has already
been enunciated by this Court in Bengzon, Jr. v. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, 122 viz:
The 1987 Constitution expressly recognizes the power of both houses of Congress to conduct
inquiries in aid of legislation. Thus, Section 21, Article VI thereof provides:
The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct
inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights
of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected.
The power of both houses of Congress to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation is not, therefore
absolute or unlimited. Its exercise is circumscribed by the afore-quoted provision of the
Constitution. Thus, as provided therein, the investigation must be "in aid of legislation in
accordance with its duly published rules of procedure" and that "the rights of persons
appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected." It follows then that the rights of
persons under the Bill of Rights must be respected, including the right to due process and the
right not be compelled to testify against one's self. 123
In G.R. No. 160262, intervenors Romulo B. Macalintal and Pete Quirino Quadra, while joining
the original petition of petitioners Candelaria, et al., introduce the new argument that since the
second impeachment complaint was verified and filed only by Representatives Gilberto
Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William Fuentebella, the same does not fall under the provision of Section
3 (4), Article XI of the Constitution which reads:
Section 3(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-
third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment,
and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
They assert that while at least 81 members of the House of Representatives signed a Resolution
of Endorsement/Impeachment, the same did not satisfy the requisites for the application of the
afore-mentioned section in that the "verified complaint or resolution of impeachment" was not
filed "by at least one-third of all the Members of the House." With the exception of
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Representatives Teodoro and Fuentebella, the signatories to said Resolution are alleged to have
verified the same merely as a "Resolution of Endorsement." Intervenors point to the
"Verification" of the Resolution of Endorsement which states that:
"We are the proponents/sponsors of the Resolution of Endorsement of the abovementioned
Complaint of Representatives Gilberto Teodoro and Felix William B. Fuentebella . . . 124
Intervenors Macalintal and Quadra further claim that what the Constitution requires in order
for said second impeachment complaint to automatically become the Articles of Impeachment
and for trial in the Senate to begin "forthwith," is that the verified complaint be "filed," not
merely endorsed, by at least one-third of the Members of the House of Representatives. Not
having complied with this requirement, they concede that the second impeachment complaint
should have been calendared and referred to the House Committee on Justice under Section
3(2), Article XI of the Constitution, viz:
Section 3(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
Intervenors' foregoing position is echoed by Justice Maambong who opined that for Section 3
(4), Article XI of the Constitution to apply, there should be 76 or more representatives who
signed and verified the second impeachment complaint as complainants, signed and verified
the signatories to a resolution of impeachment. Justice Maambong likewise asserted that the
Resolution of Endorsement/Impeachment signed by at least one-third of the members of the
House of Representatives as endorsers is not the resolution of impeachment contemplated by
the Constitution, such resolution of endorsement being necessary only from at least one
Member whenever a citizen files a verified impeachment complaint.
While the foregoing issue, as argued by intervenors Macalintal and Quadra, does indeed limit
the scope of the constitutional issues to the provisions on impeachment, more compelling
considerations militate against its adoption as the lis mota or crux of the present controversy.
Chief among this is the fact that only Attorneys Macalintal and Quadra, intervenors in G.R. No.
160262, have raised this issue as a ground for invalidating the second impeachment complaint.
Thus, to adopt this additional ground as the basis for deciding the instant consolidated petitions
would not only render for naught the efforts of the original petitioners in G.R. No. 160262, but
the efforts presented by the other petitioners as well.
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Again, the decision to discard the resolution of this issue as unnecessary for the determination
of the instant cases is made easier by the fact that said intervenors Macalintal and Quadra have
joined in the petition of Candelaria, et al., adopting the latter's arguments and issues as their
own. Consequently, they are not unduly prejudiced by this Court's decision.
In sum, this Court holds that the two remaining issues, inextricably linked as they are,
constitute the very lis mota of the instant controversy: (1) whether Sections 15 and 16 of Rule V
of the House Impeachment Rules adopted by the 12th Congress are unconstitutional for
violating the provisions of Section 3, Article XI of the Constitution; and (2) whether, as a result
thereof, the second impeachment complaint is barred under Section 3(5) of Article XI of the
Constitution.
Judicial Restraint
Senator Pimentel urges this Court to exercise judicial restraint on the ground that the Senate,
sitting as an impeachment court, has the sole power to try and decide all cases of
impeachment. Again, this Court reiterates that the power of judicial review includes the power
of review over justiciable issues in impeachment proceedings.
On the other hand, respondents Speaker De Venecia et al. argue that "[t]here is a moral
compulsion for the Court to not assume jurisdiction over the impeachment because all the
Members thereof are subject to impeachment." 125 But this argument is very much like saying
the Legislature has a moral compulsion not to pass laws with penalty clauses because Members
of the House of Representatives are subject to them.
The exercise of judicial restraint over justiciable issues is not an option before this Court.
Adjudication may not be declined, because this Court is not legally disqualified. Nor can
jurisdiction be renounced as there is no other tribunal to which the controversy may be
referred." 126 Otherwise, this Court would be shirking from its duty vested under Art. VIII, Sec.
1(2) of the Constitution. More than being clothed with authority thus, this Court is duty-bound
to take cognizance of the instant petitions. 127 In the august words of amicus curiae Father
Bernas, "jurisdiction is not just a power; it is a solemn duty which may not be renounced. To
renounce it, even if it is vexatious, would be a dereliction of duty."
Even in cases where it is an interested party, the Court under our system of government cannot
inhibit itself and must rule upon the challenge because no other office has the authority to do
so. 128 On the occasion that this Court had been an interested party to the controversy before
it, it has acted upon the matter "not with officiousness but in the discharge of an unavoidable
duty and, as always, with detachment and fairness." 129 After all, "by [his] appointment to the
office, the public has laid on [a member of the judiciary] their confidence that [he] is mentally
and morally fit to pass upon the merits of their varied contentions. For this reason, they expect
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[him] to be fearless in [his] pursuit to render justice, to be unafraid to displease any person,
interest or power and to be equipped with a moral fiber strong enough to resist the
temptations lurking in [his] office." 130
The duty to exercise the power of adjudication regardless of interest had already been settled
in the case of Abbas v. Senate Electoral Tribunal. 131 In that case, the petitioners filed with the
respondent Senate Electoral Tribunal a Motion for Disqualification or Inhibition of the Senators-
Members thereof from the hearing and resolution of SET Case No. 002-87 on the ground that
all of them were interested parties to said case as respondents therein. This would have
reduced the Tribunal's membership to only its three Justices-Members whose disqualification
was not sought, leaving them to decide the matter. This Court held:
Where, as here, a situation is created which precludes the substitution of any Senator sitting in
the Tribunal by any of his other colleagues in the Senate without inviting the same objections to
the substitute's competence, the proposed mass disqualification, if sanctioned and ordered,
would leave the Tribunal no alternative but to abandon a duty that no other court or body can
perform, but which it cannot lawfully discharge if shorn of the participation of its entire
membership of Senators.
To our mind, this is the overriding consideration that the Tribunal be not prevented from
discharging a duty which it alone has the power to perform, the performance of which is in the
highest public interest as evidenced by its being expressly imposed by no less than the
fundamental law.
It is aptly noted in the first of the questioned Resolutions that the framers of the Constitution
could not have been unaware of the possibility of an election contest that would involve all
Senators elect, six of whom would inevitably have to sit in judgment thereon. Indeed, such
possibility might surface again in the wake of the 1992 elections when once more, but for the
last time, all 24 seats in the Senate will be at stake. Yet the Constitution provides no scheme or
mode for settling such unusual situations or for the substitution of Senators designated to the
Tribunal whose disqualification may be sought. Litigants in such situations must simply place
their trust and hopes of vindication in the fairness and sense of justice of the Members of the
Tribunal. Justices and Senators, singly and collectively.
Let us not be misunderstood as saying that no Senator-Member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal
may inhibit or disqualify himself from sitting in judgment on any case before said Tribunal.
Every Member of the Tribunal may, as his conscience dictates, refrain from participating in the
resolution of a case where he sincerely feels that his personal interests or biases would stand in
the way of an objective and impartial judgment. What we are merely saying is that in the light
of the Constitution, the Senate Electoral Tribunal cannot legally function as such, absent its
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entire membership of Senators and that no amendment of its Rules can confer on the three
Justices-Members alone the power of valid adjudication of a senatorial election contest.
More recently in the case of Estrada v. Desierto, 132 it was held that:
Moreover, to disqualify any of the members of the Court, particularly a majority of them, is
nothing short of pro tanto depriving the Court itself of its jurisdiction as established by the
fundamental law. Disqualification of a judge is a deprivation of his judicial power. And if that
judge is the one designated by the Constitution to exercise the jurisdiction of his court, as is the
case with the Justices of this Court, the deprivation of his or their judicial power is equivalent to
the deprivation of the judicial power of the court itself. It affects the very heart of judicial
independence. The proposed mass disqualification, if sanctioned and ordered, would leave the
Court no alternative but to abandon a duty which it cannot lawfully discharge if shorn of the
participation of its entire membership of Justices. 133 (Italics in the original; emphasis supplied)
Besides, there are specific safeguards already laid down by the Court when it exercises its
power of judicial review.
In Demetria v. Alba, 134 this Court, through Justice Marcelo Fernan cited the "seven pillars" of
limitations of the power of judicial review, enunciated by US Supreme Court Justice Brandeis in
Ashwander v. TVA 135 as follows:
1. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of legislation in a friendly, non-
adversary proceeding, declining because to decide such questions 'is legitimate only in the last
resort, and as a necessity in the determination of real, earnest and vital controversy between
individuals. It never was the thought that, by means of a friendly suit, a party beaten in the
legislature could transfer to the courts an inquiry as to the constitutionality of the legislative
act.'
2. The Court will not 'anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity
of deciding it.' . . . 'It is not the habit of the Court to decide questions of a constitutional nature
unless absolutely necessary to a decision of the case.'
3. The Court will not 'formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the
precise facts to which it is to be applied.'
4. The Court will not pass upon a constitutional question although properly presented by
the record, if there is also present some other ground upon which the case may be disposed of.
This rule has found most varied application. Thus, if a case can be decided on either of two
grounds, one involving a constitutional question, the other a question of statutory construction
or general law, the Court will decide only the latter. Appeals from the highest court of a state
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challenging its decision of a question under the Federal Constitution are frequently dismissed
because the judgment can be sustained on an independent state ground.
5. The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute upon complaint of one who fails to
show that he is injured by its operation. Among the many applications of this rule, none is more
striking than the denial of the right of challenge to one who lacks a personal or property right.
Thus, the challenge by a public official interested only in the performance of his official duty will
not be entertained . . . In Fairchild v. Hughes, the Court affirmed the dismissal of a suit brought
by a citizen who sought to have the Nineteenth Amendment declared unconstitutional. In
Massachusetts v. Mellon, the challenge of the federal Maternity Act was not entertained
although made by the Commonwealth on behalf of all its citizens.
6. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of a statute at the instance of one
who has availed himself of its benefits.
7. When the validity of an act of the Congress is drawn in question, and even if a serious
doubt of constitutionality is raised, it is a cardinal principle that this Court will first ascertain
whether a construction of the statute is fairly possible by which the question may be avoided
(citations omitted).
The foregoing "pillars" of limitation of judicial review, summarized in Ashwander v. TVA from
different decisions of the United States Supreme Court, can be encapsulated into the following
categories:
1. that there be absolute necessity of deciding a case
2. that rules of constitutional law shall be formulated only as required by the facts of the
case
3. that judgment may not be sustained on some other ground
4. that there be actual injury sustained by the party by reason of the operation of the
statute
5. that the parties are not in estoppel
6. that the Court upholds the presumption of constitutionality.
As stated previously, parallel guidelines have been adopted by this Court in the exercise of
judicial review:
1. actual case or controversy calling for the exercise of judicial power
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2. the person challenging the act must have "standing" to challenge; he must have a
personal and substantial interest in the case such that he has sustained, or will sustain, direct
injury as a result of its enforcement
3. the question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity
4. the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case. 136
Respondents Speaker de Venecia, et al. raise another argument for judicial restraint the
possibility that "judicial review of impeachments might also lead to embarrassing conflicts
between the Congress and the [J]udiciary." They stress the need to avoid the appearance of
impropriety or conflicts of interest in judicial hearings, and the scenario that it would be
confusing and humiliating and risk serious political instability at home and abroad if the
judiciary countermanded the vote of Congress to remove an impeachable official. 137
Intervenor Soriano echoes this argument by alleging that failure of this Court to enforce its
Resolution against Congress would result in the diminution of its judicial authority and erode
public confidence and faith in the judiciary.
Such an argument, however, is specious, to say the least. As correctly stated by the Solicitor
General, the possibility of the occurrence of a constitutional crisis is not a reason for this Court
to refrain from upholding the Constitution in all impeachment cases. Justices cannot abandon
their constitutional duties just because their action may start, if not precipitate, a crisis.
Justice Feliciano warned against the dangers when this Court refuses to act.
. . . Frequently, the fight over a controversial legislative or executive act is not regarded as
settled until the Supreme Court has passed upon the constitutionality of the act involved, the
judgment has not only juridical effects but also political consequences. Those political
consequences may follow even where the Court fails to grant the petitioner's prayer to nullify
an act for lack of the necessary number of votes. Frequently, failure to act explicitly, one way or
the other, itself constitutes a decision for the respondent and validation, or at least quasi-
validation, follows." 138
Thus, in Javellana v. Executive Secretary 139 where this Court was split and "in the end there
were not enough votes either to grant the petitions, or to sustain respondent's claims," 140 the
pre-existing constitutional order was disrupted which paved the way for the establishment of
the martial law regime.
Such an argument by respondents and intervenor also presumes that the coordinate branches
of the government would behave in a lawless manner and not do their duty under the law to
uphold the Constitution and obey the laws of the land. Yet there is no reason to believe that
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any of the branches of government will behave in a precipitate manner and risk social upheaval,
violence, chaos and anarchy by encouraging disrespect for the fundamental law of the land.
Substituting the word public officers for judges, this Court is well guided by the doctrine in
People v. Veneracion, to wit: 141
Obedience to the rule of law forms the bedrock of our system of justice. If [public officers],
under the guise of religious or political beliefs were allowed to roam unrestricted beyond
boundaries within which they are required by law to exercise the duties of their office, then law
becomes meaningless. A government of laws, not of men excludes the exercise of broad
discretionary powers by those acting under its authority. Under this system, [public officers] are
guided by the Rule of Law, and ought "to protect and enforce it without fear or favor," resist
encroachments by governments, political parties, or even the interference of their own
personal beliefs. 142
Constitutionality of the Rules of Procedure for Impeachment Proceedings adopted by the 12th
Congress
Respondent House of Representatives, through Speaker De Venecia, argues that Sections 16
and 17 of Rule V of the House Impeachment Rules do not violate Section 3 (5) of Article XI of
our present Constitution, contending that the term "initiate" does not mean "to file;" that
Section 3 (1) is clear in that it is the House of Representatives, as a collective body, which has
the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment; that initiate could not possibly mean
"to file" because filing can, as Section 3 (2), Article XI of the Constitution provides, only be
accomplished in 3 ways, to wit: (1) by a verified complaint for impeachment by any member of
the House of Representatives; or (2) by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any
member; or (3) by at least 1/3 of all the members of the House. Respondent House of
Representatives concludes that the one year bar prohibiting the initiation of impeachment
proceedings against the same officials could not have been violated as the impeachment
complaint against Chief Justice Davide and seven Associate Justices had not been initiated as
the House of Representatives, acting as the collective body, has yet to act on it.
The resolution of this issue thus hinges on the interpretation of the term "initiate." Resort to
statutory construction is, therefore, in order.
That the sponsor of the provision of Section 3(5) of the Constitution, Commissioner Florenz
Regalado, who eventually became an Associate Justice of this Court, agreed on the meaning of
"initiate" as "to file," as proffered and explained by Constitutional Commissioner Maambong
during the Constitutional Commission proceedings, which he (Commissioner Regalado) as
amicus curiae affirmed during the oral arguments on the instant petitions held on November 5,
2003 at which he added that the act of "initiating" included the act of taking initial action on the
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complaint, dissipates any doubt that indeed the word "initiate" as it twice appears in Article XI
(3) and (5) of the Constitution means to file the complaint and take initial action on it.
"Initiate" of course is understood by ordinary men to mean, as dictionaries do, to begin, to
commence, or set going. As Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English
Language concisely puts it, it means "to perform or facilitate the first action," which jibes with
Justice Regalado's position, and that of Father Bernas, who elucidated during the oral
arguments of the instant petitions on November 5, 2003 in this wise:
Briefly then, an impeachment proceeding is not a single act. It is a complexus of acts consisting
of a beginning, a middle and an end. The end is the transmittal of the articles of impeachment
to the Senate. The middle consists of those deliberative moments leading to the formulation of
the articles of impeachment. The beginning or the initiation is the filing of the complaint and its
referral to the Committee on Justice.
Finally, it should be noted that the House Rule relied upon by Representatives Cojuangco and
Fuentebella says that impeachment is "deemed initiated" when the Justice Committee votes in
favor of impeachment or when the House reverses a contrary vote of the Committee. Note that
the Rule does not say "impeachment proceedings" are initiated but rather are "deemed
initiated. The language is recognition that initiation happened earlier, but by legal fiction there
is an attempt to postpone it to a time after actual initiation. (Emphasis and italics supplied)
As stated earlier, one of the means of interpreting the Constitution is looking into the intent of
the law. Fortunately, the intent of the framers of the 1987 Constitution can be pried from its
records:
MR. MAAMBONG. With reference to Section 3, regarding the procedure and the substantive
provisions on impeachment, I understand there have been many proposals and, I think, these
would need some time for Committee action.
However, I would just like to indicate that I submitted to the Committee a resolution on
impeachment proceedings, copies of which have been furnished the Members of this body.
This is borne out of my experience as a member of the Committee on Justice, Human Rights
and Good Government which took charge of the last impeachment resolution filed before the
First Batasang Pambansa. For the information of the Committee, the resolution covers several
steps in the impeachment proceedings starting with initiation, action of the Speaker committee
action, calendaring of report, voting on the report, transmittal referral to the Senate, trial and
judgment by the Senate.
xxx xxx xxx
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MR. MAAMBONG. Mr. Presiding Officer, I am not moving for a reconsideration of the approval
of the amendment submitted by Commissioner Regalado, but I will just make of record my
thinking that we do not really initiate the filing of the Articles of Impeachment on the floor. The
procedure, as I have pointed out earlier, was that the initiation starts with the filing of the
complaint. And what is actually done on the floor is that the committee resolution containing
the Articles of Impeachment is the one approved by the body.
As the phraseology now runs, which may be corrected by the Committee on Style, it appears
that the initiation starts on the floor. If we only have time, I could cite examples in the case of
the impeachment proceedings of President Richard Nixon wherein the Committee on the
Judiciary submitted the recommendation, the resolution, and the Articles of Impeachment to
the body, and it was the body who approved the resolution. It is not the body which initiates it.
It only approves or disapproves the resolution. So, on that score, probably the Committee on
Style could help in rearranging these words because we have to be very technical about this. I
have been bringing with me The Rules of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.
The Senate Rules are with me. The proceedings on the case of Richard Nixon are with me. I
have submitted my proposal, but the Committee has already decided. Nevertheless, I just want
to indicate this on record.
xxx xxx xxx
MR. MAAMBONG. I would just like to move for a reconsideration of the approval of Section 3
(3). My reconsideration will not at all affect the substance, but it is only in keeping with the
exact formulation of the Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States regarding
impeachment.
I am proposing, Madam President, without doing damage to any of this provision, that on page
2, Section 3 (3), from lines 17 to 18, we delete the words which read: "to initiate impeachment
proceedings" and the comma (,) and insert on line 19 after the word "resolution" the phrase
WITH THE ARTICLES, and then capitalize the letter "i" in "impeachment" and replace the word
"by" with OF, so that the whole section will now read: "A vote of at least one-third of all the
Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a resolution WITH THE ARTICLES of
Impeachment OF the Committee or to override its contrary resolution. The vote of each
Member shall be recorded."
I already mentioned earlier yesterday that the initiation, as far as the House of Representatives
of the United States is concerned, really starts from the filing of the verified complaint and
every resolution to impeach always carries with it the Articles of Impeachment. As a matter of
fact, the words "Articles of Impeachment" are mentioned on line 25 in the case of the direct
filing of a verified complaint of one-third of all the Members of the House. I will mention again,
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Madam President, that my amendment will not vary the substance in any way. It is only in
keeping with the uniform procedure of the House of Representatives of the United States
Congress. Thank you, Madam President. 143 (Italics in the original; emphasis and italics
supplied)
This amendment proposed by Commissioner Maambong was clarified and accepted by the
Committee on the Accountability of Public Officers. 144
It is thus clear that the framers intended "initiation" to start with the filing of the complaint. In
his amicus curiae brief, Commissioner Maambong explained that "the obvious reason in
deleting the phrase "to initiate impeachment proceedings" as contained in the text of the
provision of Section 3 (3) was to settle and make it understood once and for all that the
initiation of impeachment proceedings starts with the filing of the complaint, and the vote of
one-third of the House in a resolution of impeachment does not initiate the impeachment
proceedings which was already initiated by the filing of a verified complaint under Section 3,
paragraph (2), Article XI of the Constitution." 145
Amicus curiae Constitutional Commissioner Regalado is of the same view as is Father Bernas,
who was also a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, that the word "initiate" as
used in Article XI, Section 3(5) means to file, both adding, however, that the filing must be
accompanied by an action to set the complaint moving.
During the oral arguments before this Court, Father Bernas clarified that the word "initiate,"
appearing in the constitutional provision on impeachment, viz:
Section 3 (1). The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
xxx xxx xxx
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year, (Emphasis supplied)
refers to two objects, "impeachment case" and "impeachment proceeding."
Father Bernas explains that in these two provisions, the common verb is "to initiate." The
object in the first sentence is "impeachment case." The object in the second sentence is
"impeachment proceeding." Following the principle of reddendo singula singulis, the term
"cases" must be distinguished from the term "proceedings." An impeachment case is the legal
controversy that must be decided by the Senate. Above-quoted first provision provides that the
House, by a vote of one-third of all its members, can bring a case to the Senate. It is in that
sense that the House has "exclusive power" to initiate all cases of impeachment. No other body
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can do it. However, before a decision is made to initiate a case in the Senate, a "proceeding"
must be followed to arrive at a conclusion. A proceeding must be "initiated." To initiate, which
comes from the Latin word initium, means to begin. On the other hand, proceeding is a
progressive noun. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It takes place not in the Senate but
in the House and consists of several steps: (1) there is the filing of a verified complaint either by
a Member of the House of Representatives or by a private citizen endorsed by a Member of the
House of the Representatives; (2) there is the processing of this complaint by the proper
Committee which may either reject the complaint or uphold it; (3) whether the resolution of
the Committee rejects or upholds the complaint, the resolution must be forwarded to the
House for further processing; and (4) there is the processing of the same complaint by the
House of Representatives which either affirms a favorable resolution of the Committee or
overrides a contrary resolution by a vote of one-third of all the members. If at least one third of
all the Members upholds the complaint, Articles of Impeachment are prepared and transmitted
to the Senate. It is at this point that the House "initiates an impeachment case." It is at this
point that an impeachable public official is successfully impeached. That is, he or she is
successfully charged with an impeachment "case" before the Senate as impeachment court.
Father Bernas further explains: The "impeachment proceeding" is not initiated when the
complaint is transmitted to the Senate for trial because that is the end of the House proceeding
and the beginning of another proceeding, namely the trial. Neither is the "impeachment
proceeding" initiated when the House deliberates on the resolution passed on to it by the
Committee, because something prior to that has already been done. The action of the House is
already a further step in the proceeding, not its initiation or beginning. Rather, the proceeding
is initiated or begins, when a verified complaint is filed and referred to the Committee on
Justice for action. This is the initiating step which triggers the series of steps that follow.
The framers of the Constitution also understood initiation in its ordinary meaning. Thus when a
proposal reached the floor proposing that "A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of
the House shall be necessary . . . to initiate impeachment proceedings," this was met by a
proposal to delete the line on the ground that the vote of the House does not initiate
impeachment proceeding but rather the filing of a complaint does. 146 Thus the line was
deleted and is not found in the present Constitution.
Father Bernas concludes that when Section 3 (5) says, "No impeachment proceeding shall be
initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year," it means that no
second verified complaint may be accepted and referred to the Committee on Justice for
action. By his explanation, this interpretation is founded on the common understanding of the
meaning of "to initiate" which means to begin. He reminds that the Constitution is ratified by
the people, both ordinary and sophisticated, as they understand it; and that ordinary people
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read ordinary meaning into ordinary words and not abstruse meaning, they ratify words as they
understand it and not as sophisticated lawyers confuse it.
To the argument that only the House of Representatives as a body can initiate impeachment
proceedings because Section 3 (1) says "The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive
power to initiate all cases of impeachment," this is a misreading of said provision and is
contrary to the principle of reddendo singula singulis by equating "impeachment cases" with
"impeachment proceeding."
From the records of the Constitutional Commission, to the amicus curiae briefs of two former
Constitutional Commissioners, it is without a doubt that the term "to initiate" refers to the filing
of the impeachment complaint coupled with Congress' taking initial action of said complaint.
Having concluded that the initiation takes place by the act of filing and referral or endorsement
of the impeachment complaint to the House Committee on Justice or, by the filing by at least
one-third of the members of the House of Representatives with the Secretary General of the
House, the meaning of Section 3 (5) of Article XI becomes clear. Once an impeachment
complaint has been initiated, another impeachment complaint may not be filed against the
same official within a one year period.
Under Sections 16 and 17 of Rule V of the House Impeachment Rules, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated (1) if there is a finding by the House Committee on Justice
that the verified complaint and/or resolution is sufficient in substance, or (2) once the House
itself affirms or overturns the finding of the Committee on Justice that the verified complaint
and/or resolution is not sufficient in substance or (3) by the filing or endorsement before the
Secretary-General of the House of Representatives of a verified complaint or a resolution of
impeachment by at least 1/3 of the members of the House. These rules clearly contravene
Section 3 (5) of Article XI since the rules give the term "initiate" a meaning different meaning
from filing and referral.
In his amicus curiae brief, Justice Hugo Gutierrez posits that this Court could not use
contemporaneous construction as an aid in the interpretation of Sec. 3 (5) of Article XI, citing
Vera v. Avelino 147 wherein this Court stated that "their personal opinions (referring to Justices
who were delegates to the Constitution Convention) on the matter at issue expressed during
this Court's our deliberations stand on a different footing from the properly recorded
utterances of debates and proceedings." Further citing said case, he states that this Court
likened the former members of the Constitutional Convention to actors who are so absorbed in
their emotional roles that intelligent spectators may know more about the real meaning
because of the latter's balanced perspectives and disinterestedness. 148
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Justice Gutierrez's statements have no application in the present petitions. There are at present
only two members of this Court who participated in the 1986 Constitutional Commission
Chief Justice Davide and Justice Adolf Azcuna. Chief Justice Davide has not taken part in these
proceedings for obvious reasons. Moreover, this Court has not simply relied on the personal
opinions now given by members of the Constitutional Commission, but has examined the
records of the deliberations and proceedings thereof.
Respondent House of Representatives counters that under Section 3 (8) of Article XI, it is clear
and unequivocal that it and only it has the power to make and interpret its rules governing
impeachment. Its argument is premised on the assumption that Congress has absolute power
to promulgate its rules. This assumption, however, is misplaced.
Section 3 (8) of Article XI provides that "The Congress shall promulgate its rules on
impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this section." Clearly, its power to
promulgate its rules on impeachment is limited by the phrase "to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section." Hence, these rules cannot contravene the very purpose of the
Constitution which said rules were intended to effectively carry out. Moreover, Section 3 of
Article XI clearly provides for other specific limitations on its power to make rules, viz:
Section 3.(1) . . .
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary to either
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
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It is basic that all rules must not contravene the Constitution which is the fundamental law. If as
alleged Congress had absolute rule making power, then it would by necessary implication have
the power to alter or amend the meaning of the Constitution without need of referendum.
In Osmea v. Pendatun, 149 this Court held that it is within the province of either House of
Congress to interpret its rules and that it was the best judge of what constituted "disorderly
behavior" of its members. However, in Paceta v. Secretary of the Commission on
Appointments, 150 Justice (later Chief Justice) Enrique Fernando, speaking for this Court and
quoting Justice Brandeis in United States v. Smith, 151 declared that where the construction to
be given to a rule affects persons other than members of the Legislature, the question becomes
judicial in nature. In Arroyo v. De Venecia, 152 quoting United States v. Ballin, Joseph & Co., 153
Justice Vicente Mendoza, speaking for this Court, held that while the Constitution empowers
each house to determine its rules of proceedings, it may not by its rules ignore constitutional
restraints or violate fundamental rights, and further that there should be a reasonable relation
between the mode or method of proceeding established by the rule and the result which is
sought to be attained. It is only within these limitations that all matters of method are open to
the determination of the Legislature. In the same case of Arroyo v. De Venecia, Justice Reynato
S. Puno, in his Concurring and Dissenting Opinion, was even more emphatic as he stressed that
in the Philippine setting there is even more reason for courts to inquire into the validity of the
Rules of Congress, viz:
With due respect, I do not agree that the issues posed by the petitioner are non-justiciable. Nor
do I agree that we will trivialize the principle of separation of power if we assume jurisdiction
over the case at bar. Even in the United States, the principle of separation of power is no longer
an impregnable impediment against the interposition of judicial power on cases involving
breach of rules of procedure by legislators.
Rightly, the ponencia uses the 1891 case of US v. Ballin (144 US 1) as a window to view the
issues before the Court. It is in Ballin where the US Supreme Court first defined the boundaries
of the power of the judiciary to review congressional rules. It held:
"xxx xxx xxx
"The Constitution, in the same section, provides, that each house may determine the rules of its
proceedings." It appears that in pursuance of this authority the House had, prior to that day,
passed this as one of its rules:
Rule XV
3. On the demand of any member, or at the suggestion of the Speaker, the names of
members sufficient to make a quorum in the hall of the House who do not vote shall be noted
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by the clerk and recorded in the journal, and reported to the Speaker with the names of the
members voting, and be counted and announced in determining the presence of a quorum to
do business. (House Journal, 230, Feb. 14, 1890)
The action taken was in direct compliance with this rule. The question, therefore, is as to the
validity of this rule, and not what methods the Speaker may of his own motion resort to for
determining the presence of a quorum, nor what matters the Speaker or clerk may of their own
volition place upon the journal. Neither do the advantages or disadvantages, the wisdom or
folly, of such a rule present any matters for judicial consideration. With the courts the question
is only one of power. The Constitution empowers each house to determine its rules of
proceedings. It may not by its rules ignore constitutional restraints or violate fundamental
rights, and there should be a reasonable relation between the mode or method of proceedings
established by the rule and the result which is sought to be attained. But within these
limitations all matters of method are open to the determination of the House, and it is no
impeachment of the rule to say that some other way would be better, more accurate, or even
more just. It is no objection to the validity of a rule that a different one has been prescribed and
in force for a length of time. The power to make rules is not one which once exercised is
exhausted. It is a continuous power, always subject to be exercised by the House, and within
the limitations suggested, absolute and beyond the challenge of any other body or tribunal."
Ballin, clearly confirmed the jurisdiction of courts to pass upon the validity of congressional
rules, i.e., whether they are constitutional. Rule XV was examined by the Court and it was found
to satisfy the test: (1) that it did not ignore any constitutional restraint; (2) it did not violate any
fundamental right; and (3) its method had a reasonable relationship with the result sought to
be attained. By examining Rule XV, the Court did not allow its jurisdiction to be defeated by the
mere invocation of the principle of separation of powers. 154
xxx xxx xxx
In the Philippine setting, there is a more compelling reason for courts to categorically reject the
political question defense when its interposition will cover up abuse of power. For section 1,
Article VIII of our Constitution was intentionally cobbled to empower courts ". . . to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government." This power is new
and was not granted to our courts in the 1935 and 1972 Constitutions. It was not also xeroxed
from the US Constitution or any foreign state constitution. The CONCOM granted this
enormous power to our courts in view of our experience under martial law where abusive
exercises of state power were shielded from judicial scrutiny by the misuse of the political
question doctrine. Led by the eminent former Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion, the CONCOM
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expanded and sharpened the checking powers of the judiciary vis--vis the Executive and the
Legislative departments of government. 155
xxx xxx xxx
The Constitution cannot be any clearer. What it granted to this Court is not a mere power which
it can decline to exercise. Precisely to deter this disinclination, the Constitution imposed it as a
duty of this Court to strike down any act of a branch or instrumentality of government or any of
its officials done with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
Rightly or wrongly, the Constitution has elongated the checking powers of this Court against the
other branches of government despite their more democratic character, the President and the
legislators being elected by the people. 156
xxx xxx xxx
The provision defining judicial power as including the 'duty of the courts of justice . . . to
determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government'
constitutes the capstone of the efforts of the Constitutional Commission to upgrade the powers
of this court vis--vis the other branches of government. This provision was dictated by our
experience under martial law which taught us that a stronger and more independent judiciary is
needed to abort abuses in government. . . .
xxx xxx xxx
In sum, I submit that in imposing to this Court the duty to annul acts of government committed
with grave abuse of discretion, the new Constitution transformed this Court from passivity to
activism. This transformation, dictated by our distinct experience as nation, is not merely
evolutionary but revolutionary. Under the 1935 and the 1973 Constitutions, this Court
approached constitutional violations by initially determining what it cannot do; under the 1987
Constitution, there is a shift in stress this Court is mandated to approach constitutional
violations not by finding out what it should not do but what it must do. The Court must
discharge this solemn duty by not resuscitating a past that petrifies the present.
I urge my brethren in the Court to give due and serious consideration to this new constitutional
provision as the case at bar once more calls us to define the parameters of our power to review
violations of the rules of the House. We will not be true to our trust as the last bulwark against
government abuses if we refuse to exercise this new power or if we wield it with timidity. To be
sure, it is this exceeding timidity to unsheathe the judicial sword that has increasingly
emboldened other branches of government to denigrate, if not defy, orders of our courts. In
Tolentino, I endorsed the view of former Senator Salonga that this novel provision stretching
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the latitude of judicial power is distinctly Filipino and its interpretation should not be
depreciated by undue reliance on inapplicable foreign jurisprudence. In resolving the case at
bar, the lessons of our own history should provide us the light and not the experience of
foreigners. 157 (Italics in the original; emphasis and italics supplied)
Thus, the ruling in Osmea v. Pendatun is not applicable to the instant petitions. Here, the third
parties alleging the violation of private rights and the Constitution are involved.
Neither may respondent House of Representatives' rely on Nixon v. US 158 as basis for arguing
that this Court may not decide on the constitutionality of Sections 16 and 17 of the House
Impeachment Rules. As already observed, the U.S. Federal Constitution simply provides that
"the House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment." It adds nothing
more. It gives no clue whatsoever as to how this "sole power" is to be exercised. No limitation
whatsoever is given. Thus, the US Supreme Court concluded that there was a textually
demonstrable constitutional commitment of a constitutional power to the House of
Representatives. This reasoning does not hold with regard to impeachment power of the
Philippine House of Representatives since our Constitution, as earlier enumerated, furnishes
several provisions articulating how that "exclusive power" is to be exercised.
The provisions of Sections 16 and 17 of Rule V of the House Impeachment Rules which state
that impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated (1) if there is a finding by the House
Committee on Justice that the verified complaint and/or resolution is sufficient in substance, or
(2) once the House itself affirms or overturns the finding of the Committee on Justice that the
verified complaint and/or resolution is not sufficient in substance or (3) by the filing or
endorsement before the Secretary-General of the House of Representatives of a verified
complaint or a resolution of impeachment by at least 1/3 of the members of the House thus
clearly contravene Section 3 (5) of Article XI as they give the term "initiate" a meaning different
from "filing."
Validity of the Second Impeachment Complaint
Having concluded that the initiation takes place by the act of filing of the impeachment
complaint and referral to the House Committee on Justice, the initial action taken thereon, the
meaning of Section 3 (5) of Article XI becomes clear. Once an impeachment complaint has been
initiated in the foregoing manner, another may not be filed against the same official within a
one year period following Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution.
In fine, considering that the first impeachment complaint, was filed by former President Estrada
against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., along with seven associate justices of this Court, on
June 2, 2003 and referred to the House Committee on Justice on August 5, 2003, the second
impeachment complaint filed by Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William
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Fuentebella against the Chief Justice on October 23, 2003 violates the constitutional prohibition
against the initiation of impeachment proceedings against the same impeachable officer within
a one-year period.
Conclusion
If there is anything constant about this country, it is that there is always a phenomenon that
takes the center stage of our individual and collective consciousness as a people with our
characteristic flair for human drama, conflict or tragedy. Of course this is not to demean the
seriousness of the controversy over the Davide impeachment. For many of us, the past two
weeks have proven to be an exasperating, mentally and emotionally exhausting experience.
Both sides have fought bitterly a dialectical struggle to articulate what they respectively believe
to be the correct position or view on the issues involved. Passions had ran high as
demonstrators, whether for or against the impeachment of the Chief Justice, took to the streets
armed with their familiar slogans and chants to air their voice on the matter. Various sectors of
society from the business, retired military, to the academe and denominations of faith
offered suggestions for a return to a state of normalcy in the official relations of the
governmental branches affected to obviate any perceived resulting instability upon areas of
national life.
Through all these and as early as the time when the Articles of Impeachment had been
constituted, this Court was specifically asked, told, urged and argued to take no action of any
kind and form with respect to the prosecution by the House of Representatives of the
impeachment complaint against the subject respondent public official. When the present
petitions were knocking so to speak at the doorsteps of this Court, the same clamor for non-
interference was made through what are now the arguments of "lack of jurisdiction," "non-
justiciability," and "judicial self-restraint" aimed at halting the Court from any move that may
have a bearing on the impeachment proceedings.
This Court did not heed the call to adopt a hands-off stance as far as the question of the
constitutionality of initiating the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Davide is
concerned. To reiterate what has been already explained, the Court found the existence in full
of all the requisite conditions for its exercise of its constitutionally vested power and duty of
judicial review over an issue whose resolution precisely called for the construction or
interpretation of a provision of the fundamental law of the land. What lies in here is an issue of
a genuine constitutional material which only this Court can properly and competently address
and adjudicate in accordance with the clear-cut allocation of powers under our system of
government. Face-to-face thus with a matter or problem that squarely falls under the Court's
jurisdiction, no other course of action can be had but for it to pass upon that problem head on.
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The claim, therefore, that this Court by judicially entangling itself with the process of
impeachment has effectively set up a regime of judicial supremacy, is patently without basis in
fact and in law.
This Court in the present petitions subjected to judicial scrutiny and resolved on the merits only
the main issue of whether the impeachment proceedings initiated against the Chief Justice
transgressed the constitutionally imposed one-year time bar rule. Beyond this, it did not go
about assuming jurisdiction where it had none, nor indiscriminately turn justiciable issues out
of decidedly political questions. Because it is not at all the business of this Court to assert
judicial dominance over the other two great branches of the government. Rather, the raison
d'etre of the judiciary is to complement the discharge by the executive and legislative of their
own powers to bring about ultimately the beneficent effects of having founded and ordered
our society upon the rule of law.
It is suggested that by our taking cognizance of the issue of constitutionality of the
impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice, the members of this Court have actually
closed ranks to protect one of their brethren. That the members' interests in ruling on said
issue is as much at stake as is that of the Chief Justice. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The institution that is the Supreme Court together with all other courts has long held and been
entrusted with the judicial power to resolve conflicting legal rights regardless of the
personalities involved in the suits or actions. This Court has dispensed justice over the course of
time, unaffected by whomsoever stood to benefit or suffer therefrom, unafraid by whatever
imputations or speculations could be made to it, so long as it rendered judgment according to
the law and the facts. Why can it not now be trusted to wield judicial power in these petitions
just because it is the highest ranking magistrate who is involved when it is an incontrovertible
fact that the fundamental issue is not him but the validity of a government branch's official act
as tested by the limits set by the Constitution? Of course, there are rules on the inhibition of
any member of the judiciary from taking part in a case in specified instances. But to disqualify
this entire institution now from the suits at bar is to regard the Supreme Court as likely
incapable of impartiality when one of its members is a party to a case, which is simply a non
sequitur.
No one is above the law or the Constitution. This is a basic precept in any legal system which
recognizes equality of all men before the law as essential to the law's moral authority and that
of its agents to secure respect for and obedience to its commands. Perhaps, there is no other
government branch or instrumentality that is most zealous in protecting that principle of legal
equality other than the Supreme Court which has discerned its real meaning and ramifications
through its application to numerous cases especially of the high-profile kind in the annals of
jurisprudence. The Chief Justice is not above the law and neither is any other member of this
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Court. But just because he is the Chief Justice does not imply that he gets to have less in law
than anybody else. The law is solicitous of every individual's rights irrespective of his station in
life.
The Filipino nation and its democratic institutions have no doubt been put to test once again by
this impeachment case against Chief Justice Hilario Davide. Accordingly, this Court has resorted
to no other than the Constitution in search for a solution to what many feared would ripen to a
crisis in government. But though it is indeed immensely a blessing for this Court to have found
answers in our bedrock of legal principles, it is equally important that it went through this
crucible of a democratic process, if only to discover that it can resolve differences without the
use of force and aggression upon each other.
WHEREFORE, Sections 16 and 17 of Rule V of the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment
Proceedings which were approved by the House of Representatives on November 28, 2001 are
unconstitutional. Consequently, the second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice
Hilario G. Davide, Jr. which was filed by Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix
William B. Fuentebella with the Office of the Secretary General of the House of Representatives
on October 23, 2003 is barred under paragraph 5, section 3 of Article XI of the Constitution.
SO ORDERED.
Carpio, J ., concurs.
Davide, Jr., C .J ., took no part.
Quisumbing, J ., concurring separate opinion received.
Austria-Martinez, J ., concurs in the majority opinion and in the separate opinion of J. Vitug.
Corona, J ., I will write a separate concurring opinion.
Separate Opinions
BELLOSILLO, J .:
. . . In times of social disquietude or political excitement, the great landmarks of the
Constitution are apt to be forgotten or marred, if not entirely obliterated.
Justice Jose P. Laurel
A pall of gloom hovers ominously in the horizon. Looming in its midst is the specter of conflict
the thunderous echoes of which we listened to intently for the past few days; two great
departments of government locked in a virtual impasse, sending them closer to the precipice of
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constitutional confrontation. Emerging from the shadows of unrest is the national inquest on
the conduct of no less than the Chief Justice of this Court. Impeachment, described by Alexis
Tocqueville as "the most formidable weapon that has ever been placed in the grasp of the
majority," has taken center stage in the national consciousness in view of its far-reaching
implications on the life of our nation. Unless the issues involved in the controversial cases are
dealt with exceptional sensitivity and sobriety, the tempest of anarchy may fulminate and tear
apart the very foundations of our political existence. It will be an unfortunate throwback to the
dark days of savagery and brutishness where the hungry mob screaming for blood and a pound
of flesh must be fed to be pacified and satiated.
On 2 June 2003 former President Joseph Estrada through counsel filed a verified impeachment
complaint before the House of Representatives charging Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. and
seven (7) Associate Justices of this Court with culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of
public trust and other high crimes. The complaint was endorsed by Reps. Rolex T. Suplico of
Iloilo, Ronaldo B. Zamora of San Juan and Didagen P. Dilangalen of Maguindanao and Cotabato
City.
On 13 October 2003, the House Committee on Justice included the impeachment complaint in
its Order of Business and ruled that the complaint was "sufficient in form." Subsequently
however, on 22 October 2003, the House Committee on Justice recommended the dismissal of
the complaint for being "insufficient in substance."
On 23 October 2003, four (4) months after the filing of the first impeachment complaint, a
second verified impeachment complaint was filed by Reps. Gilberto C. Teodoro of Tarlac and
William Felix D. Fuentebella of Camarines Sur, this time against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide,
Jr. alone. The complaint accused the Chief Justice mainly of misusing the Judiciary Development
Fund (JDF). Thereafter, more than eighty (80) members of the Lower House, constituting more
than 1/3 of its total membership, signed the resolution endorsing the second impeachment
complaint.
Several petitions for certiorari and prohibition questioning the constitutionality of the second
impeachment complaint were filed before this Court. Oral arguments were set for hearing on 5
November 2003 which had to be extended to 6 November 2003 to accommodate the parties
and their respective counsel. During the hearings, eight (8) amici curiae appeared to expound
their views on the contentious issues relevant to the impeachment.
This Court must hearken to the dictates of judicial restraint and reasoned hesitance. I find no
urgency for judicial intervention at this time. I am conscious of the transcendental implications
and importance of the issues that confront us, not in the instant cases alone but on future ones
as well; but to me, this is not the proper hour nor the appropriate circumstance to perform our
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duty. True, this Court is vested with the power to annul the acts of the legislature when tainted
with grave abuse of discretion. Even so, this power is not lightly assumed or readily exercised.
The doctrine of separation of powers imposes upon the courts proper restraint born of the
nature of their functions and of their respect for the other departments, in striking down the
acts of the legislature as unconstitutional. Verily, the policy is a harmonious blend of courtesy
and caution. 1
All avenues of redress in the instant cases must perforce be conscientiously explored and
exhausted, not within the hallowed domain of this Court, but within the august confines of the
Legislature, particularly the Senate. As Alexander Hamilton, delegate to the 1787 American
Constitutional Convention, once wrote: "The Senate is the most fit depositary of this important
trust." 2 We must choose not to rule upon the merits of these petitions at this time simply
because, I believe, this is the prudent course of action to take under the circumstances; and, it
should certainly not to be equated with a total abdication of our bounden duty to uphold the
Constitution.
For considerations of law and judicial comity, we should refrain from adjudicating the issues
one way or the other, except to express our views as we see proper and appropriate.
First. The matter of impeachment is a political question that must rightfully be addressed to a
political branch of government, which is the Congress of the Philippines. As enunciated in
Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, 3 we do not automatically assume jurisdiction over
actual constitutional cases brought before us even in instances that are ripe for resolution
One class of cases wherein the Court hesitates to rule on are "political questions." The reason is
that political questions are concerned with issues dependent upon the wisdom, not the legality,
of a particular act or measure being assailed. Moreover, the political question being the
function of the separation of powers, the courts will not normally interfere with the workings of
another co-equal branch unless the case shows a clear need for the courts to step in to uphold
the law and the Constitution. caAICE
Clearly, the constitutional power of impeachment rightfully belongs to Congress in a two-fold
character: (a) The power to initiate impeachment cases against impeachable officers is lodged
in the House of Representatives; and, (b) The power to try and decide impeachment cases
belongs solely to the Senate.
In Baker v. Carr 4 repeatedly mentioned during the oral arguments, the United States Supreme
Court held that political questions chiefly relate to separation of powers issues, the Judiciary
being a co-equal branch of government together with the Legislature and the Executive branch,
thus calling for judicial deference. A controversy is non-justiciable where there is a "textually
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demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department, or a
lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it." 5
But perhaps it is Nixon v. United States 6 which provides the authority on the "political
question" doctrine as applied in impeachment cases. In that case the U.S. Supreme Court
applied the Baker ruling to reinforce the "political question" doctrine in impeachment cases.
Unless it can therefore be shown that the exercise of such discretion was gravely abused, the
Congressional exercise of judgment must be recognized by this Court. The burden to show that
the House or the Senate gravely abused its discretion in impeaching a public officer belongs
exclusively to the impeachable officer concerned.
Second. At all times, the three (3) departments of government must accord mutual respect to
each other under the principle of separation of powers. As a co-equal, coordinate and co-
extensive branch, the Judiciary must defer to the wisdom of the Congress in the exercise of the
latter's power under the Impeachment Clause of the Constitution as a measure of judicial
comity on issues properly within the sphere of the Legislature.
Third. It is incumbent upon the Court to exercise judicial restraint in rendering a ruling in this
particular case to preserve the principle of separation of powers and restore faith and stability
in our system of government. Dred Scott v. Sandford 7 is a grim illustration of how catastrophic
improvident judicial incursions into the legislative domain could be. It is one of the most
denounced cases in the history of U.S. Supreme Court decision-making. Penned by Chief Justice
Taney, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 7-2, denied that a Negro was a citizen of the United
States even though he happened to live in a "free" state. The U.S. High Court likewise declared
unconstitutional the law forbidding slavery in certain federal territories. Dred Scott undermined
the integrity of the U.S. High Court at a moment in history when it should have been a powerful
stabilizing force. More significantly, it inflamed the passions of the Northern and Southern
states over the slavery issue thus precipitating the American Civil War. This we do not wish to
happen in the Philippines!
It must be clarified, lest I be misconstrued, this is not to say that this Court is absolutely
precluded from inquiring into the constitutionality of the impeachment process. The present
Constitution, specifically under Art. VIII, Sec. 1, introduced the expanded concept of the power
of judicial review that now explicitly allows the determination of whether there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch
or instrumentality of the government. This is evidently in response to the unedifying experience
of the past in frequently resorting to the "political question" doctrine that in no mean measure
has emasculated the Court's authority to strike down abuses of power by the government or
any of its instrumentalities.
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While the impeachment mechanism is by constitutional design a sui generis political process, it
is not impervious to judicial interference in case of arbitrary or capricious exercise of the power
to impeach by Congress. It becomes the duty of the Court to step in, not for the purpose of
questioning the wisdom or motive behind the legislative exercise of impeachment powers, but
merely to check against infringement of constitutional standards. In such circumstance,
legislative actions "might be so far beyond the scope of its constitutional authority, and the
consequent impact on the Republic so great, as to merit a judicial response despite prudential
concerns that would ordinarily counsel silence." 8 I must, of course, hasten to add by way of a
finale the nature of the power of judicial review as elucidated in Angara v. Electoral Commission
9
The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature,
scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality
of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality
nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation
assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the
Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
instrument secures and guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed
"judicial supremacy" which properly is the power of judicial review under the Constitution
(emphasis supplied).
By way of obiter dictum, I find the second impeachment complaint filed against the Chief
Justice on 23 October 2003 to be constitutionally infirm. Precisely, Art. 11, Sec. 3, par. (5), of
the 1987 Constitution explicitly ordains that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated
against the same official more than once within a period of one year." The fundamental
contention that the first impeachment complaint is not an "initiated" complaint, hence should
not be counted, since the House Committee on Justice found it to be insufficient in substance,
is specious, to say the least. It seems plain to me that the term initiation must be understood in
its ordinary legal acceptation, which means inception or commencement; hence, an
impeachment is initiated upon the filing of a verified complaint, similar to an ordinary action
which is initiated by the filing of the complaint in the proper tribunal. This conclusion finds
support in the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, which was quoted extensively in
the hearings of 5 and 6 November 2003
THE PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Trenas). Commissioner Maambong is recognized.
MR. MAAMBONG. Mr. Presiding Officer, I am not moving for a reconsideration of the approval
of the amendment submitted by Commissioner Regalado, but I will just make of record my
thinking that we do not really initiate the filing of the Articles of Impeachment on the floor. The
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procedure, as I have pointed out earlier, was that the initiation starts with the filing of the
complaint. And what is actually done on the floor is that the committee resolution containing
the Articles of Impeachment is the one approved by the body.
As the phraseology now runs, which may be corrected by the Committee on Style, it appears
that the initiation starts on the floor. If we only have time, I could cite examples in the case of
the impeachment proceedings of President Richard Nixon wherein the Committee on the
Judiciary submitted the recommendation, the resolution and the Articles of Impeachment to
the body, and it was the body that approved the resolution. It is not the body which initiates it.
It only approves or disapproves the resolution. So, on that score, probably the Committee on
Style could help in rearranging these words because we have to be very technical about this. I
have been bringing with me The Rules of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.
The Senate Rules are with me. The proceedings of the case of Richard Nixon are with me. I have
submitted my proposal, but the Committee has already decided. Nevertheless, I just want to
indicate this on record . . . (italics supplied for emphasis). 10
As aptly observed by Fr. Joaquin C. Bernas, S.J., "an impeachment proceeding is not a single act;
it is a complexus of acts consisting of a beginning, a middle and an end. The end is the
transmittal of the articles of impeachment to the Senate. The middle consists of those
deliberative moments leading to the formulation of the articles of impeachment. The beginning
or the initiation is the filing of the complaint and its referral to the Committee on Justice." 11
To recapitulate: (a) Impeachment is a political question that is rightfully within the sphere of
Congressional prerogatives; (b) As co-equal, coordinate and co-extensive branches of the
government, the Legislature and the Judiciary must respect the doctrine of separation of
powers at all times; (c) Judicial restraint must be exercised by this Court in the instant cases, as
a matter of judicial courtesy; and, (d) While impeachment is essentially a political exercise,
judicial interference is allowed in case of arbitrary or capricious exercise of that power as to
amount to grave abuse of discretion.
It is lamentable indeed that the life of our nation has been marked by turbulent periods of pain,
anxieties and doubt. The instant cases come at a time when scandals of corruption, obscene
profligacy and venality in public office appear to be stalking the entire system of government. It
is a period of stress with visible signs of creeping hopelessness, and public disenchantment
continues to sap the vim and vitality of our institutions. The challenge at present is how to
preserve the majesty of the Constitution and protect the ideals of our republican government
by averting a complete meltdown of governmental civility and respect for the separation of
powers. It is my abiding conviction that the Senate will wield its powers in a fair and objective
fashion and in faithful obeisance to their sacred trust to achieve this end.
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"The highest proof of virtue," intoned Lord Macaulay, "is to possess boundless power without
abusing it." And so it must be that we yield to the authority of the House of Representatives
and the Senate on the matter of the impeachment of one of our Brethren, and unless the
exercise of that authority is tainted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction we should refrain from interfering with the prerogatives of Congress. That, I
believe, is judicial statesmanship of the highest order which will preserve the harmony among
the three separate but co-equal branches of government under our constitutional democracy.
IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, I maintain that in disposing of this case we should exercise judicial
restraint and leave the matter to the Senate unless such exercise is fraught with grave abuse of
discretion. Hence, I find no legal obstacle to dismissing the instant petitions.
PUNO, J ., concurring and dissenting:
Over a century ago, Lord Bryce described the power of impeachment as the "heaviest piece of
artillery in the congressional arsenal." Alexander Hamilton warned that any impeachment
proceeding "will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community." His word is
prophetic for today we are in the edge of a crisis because of the alleged unconstitutional
exercise of the power of impeachment by the House of Representatives.
Before the Court are separate petitions for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus filed by
different groups seeking to prevent the House of Representatives from transmitting to the
Senate the Articles of Impeachment against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., alleging
improper use of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF), and to enjoin the Senate from trying
and deciding the case.
Let us first leapfrog the facts. On October 23, 2003, Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr.,
First District, Tarlac, and Felix William B. Fuentebella, Third District, Camarines Sur, filed with
the House of Representatives a Complaint for Impeachment against Chief Justice Hilario G.
Davide, Jr. The complaint alleged the underpayment of the cost of living allowance of the
members and personnel of the judiciary from the JDF, and unlawful disbursement of said fund
for various infrastructure projects and acquisition of service vehicles and other equipment. The
complaint was endorsed by one-third (1/3) of all the members of the House of Representatives.
It is set to be transmitted to the Senate for appropriate action.
In the succeeding days, several petitions were filed with this Court by members of the bar,
members of the House of Representatives, as well as private individuals, all asserting their
rights, among others, as taxpayers to stop the illegal spending of public funds for the
impeachment proceedings against the Chief Justice. The petitioners contend that the filing of
the present impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice is barred under Article XI, Section
3 (5) of the 1987 Constitution which states that "(n)o impeachment proceedings shall be
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initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year." They cite the
prior Impeachment Complaint filed by Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada against the
Chief Justice and seven associate justices of this Court on June 2, 2003 for allegedly conspiring
to deprive him of his mandate as President, swearing in then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo to the Presidency, and declaring him permanently disabled to hold office. Said
complaint was dismissed by the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives on
October 23, 2003 for being insufficient in substance. The recommendation has still to be
approved or disapproved by the House of Representatives in plenary session.
On October 28, 2003, this Court issued a resolution requiring the respondents and the Solicitor
General to comment on the petitions and setting the cases for oral argument on November 5,
2003. The Court also appointed the following as amici curiae: Former Senate President Jovito R.
Salonga, former Constitutional Commissioner Joaquin G. Bernas, retired Justice Hugo E.
Gutierrez, Jr. of the Supreme Court, retired Justice Florenz D. Regalado of the Supreme Court,
former Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza, former Constitutional
Commissioner and now Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals, Regalado E. Maambong, Dean
Raul C. Pangalangan and former Dean Pacifico A. Agabin of the UP College of Law. The Court
further called on the petitioners and the respondents to maintain the status quo and enjoined
them to refrain from committing acts that would render the petitions moot.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives took the position that this Court lacks
jurisdiction to entertain the petitions at bar. The Senate, thru its President, the Honorable
Franklin Drilon further manifested that the petitions are premature for the Articles of
Impeachment have not been transmitted to them. In its Special Appearance, the House alleged
that the petitions pose political questions which are non-justiciable.
We then look at the profiles of the problems. On November 5 and 6, 2003, the Court heard the
petitions on oral argument. It received arguments on the following issues:
Whether the certiorari jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be invoked; who can invoke it; on
what issues and at what time; and whether it should be exercised by this Court at this time.
a) locus standi of petitioners;
b) ripeness (prematurity; mootness);
c) political question/justiciability;
d) House's "exclusive" power to initiate all cases of impeachment;
e) Senate's "sole" power to try and decide all cases of impeachment;
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f) constitutionality of the House Rules on Impeachment vis a vis Section 3 (5) of Article XI
of the Constitution; and
g) judicial restraint.
Due to the constraints of time, I shall limit my Opinion to the hot-button issues of justiciability,
jurisdiction and judicial restraint. For a start, let us look to the history of thought on
impeachment for its comprehensive understanding.
A. The Origin and Nature of Impeachment:
The British Legacy
The historical roots of impeachment appear to have been lost in the mist of time. Some trace
them to the Athenian Constitution. 1 It is written that Athenian public officials were hailed to
law courts known as "heliaea" upon leaving office. The citizens were then given the right to
charge the said officials before they were allowed to bow out of office. 2
Undoubtedly, however, the modern concept of impeachment is part of the British legal legacy
to the world, especially to the United States. 3 It was originally conceived as a checking
mechanism on executive excuses. 4 It was then the only way to hold royal officials accountable.
5 The records reveal that the first English impeachments took place in the reign of Edward III
(1327-1377). 6 It was during his kingship that the two houses of Lords and Commons acquired
some legislative powers. 7 But it was during the reign of Henry IV (1399-1413) that the
procedure was firmly established whereby the House of Commons initiated impeachment
proceedings while the House of Lords tried the impeachment cases. 8 Impeachment in England
covered not only public officials but private individuals as well. There was hardly any limitation
in the imposable punishment. 9
Impeachment in England skyrocketed during periods of institutional strifes and was most
intense prior to the Protestant Revolution. Its use declined when political reforms were
instituted. 10 Legal scholars are united in the view that English impeachment partakes of a
political proceeding and impeachable offenses are political crimes. 11
B. Impeachment in the United States:
Its political character
The history of impeachment in colonial America is scant and hardly instructive. In the royal
colonies, governors were appointed by the Crown while in the proprietary colonies, they were
named by the proprietor. 12 Their tenure was uncertain. They were dismissed for disobedience
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or inefficiency or political patronage. 13 Judges were either commissioned in England or in
some instances appointed by the governor. They enjoyed no security of office. 14
The first state constitutions relied heavily on common law traditions and the experience of
colonial government. 15 In each state, the Constitution provided for a Chief Executive, a
legislature and a judiciary. 16 Almost all of the Constitutions provided for impeachment. 17
There were differences in the impeachment process in the various states. 18 Even the grounds
for impeachment and their penalties were dissimilar. In most states, the lower house of the
legislature was empowered to initiate the impeachment proceedings. 19 In some states, the
trial of impeachment cases was given to the upper house of the legislature; in others, it was
entrusted to a combination of these fora. 20 At the national level, the 1781 Articles of
Confederation did not contain any provision on impeachment. 21
Then came the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787. In crafting the provisions on
impeachment, the delegates were again guided by their colonial heritage, the early state
constitutions, and common law traditions, especially the British legacy. 22
The records show that Edmund Randolph of the State of Virginia presented to the Convention
what came to be known as the Virginia Plan of structure of government. It was largely the
handiwork of James Madison, Father of the American Constitution. It called for a strong
national government composed of an executive, a bicameral legislature and a judiciary. 23 The
Virginia Plan vested jurisdiction in the judiciary over impeachment of national officers. 24
Charles Pinkney of South Carolina offered a different plan. He lodged the power of
impeachment in the lower house of the legislature but the right to try was given to the federal
judiciary. 25 Much of the impeachment debates, however, centered on the accountability of
the President and how he should be impeached. A Committee called Committee on Detail 26
recommended that the House of Representatives be given the sole power of impeachment. It
also suggested that the Supreme Court should be granted original jurisdiction to try cases of
impeachment. The matter was further referred to a Committee of Eleven chaired by David
Brearley of New Hampshire. 27 It suggested that the Senate should have the power to try all
impeachments, with a 2/3 vote to convict. The Vice President was to be ex-officio President of
the Senate, except when the President was tried, in which event the Chief Justice was to
preside. 28 Gouverneur Morris explained that "a conclusive reason for making the Senate
instead of the Supreme Court the Judge of impeachments, was that the latter was to try the
President after the trial of the impeachment." 29 James Madison insisted on the Supreme Court
and not the Senate as the impeachment court for it would make the President "improperly
dependent. 30 Madison's stand was decisively rejected. 31 The draft on the impeachment
provisions was submitted to a Committee on Style which finalized them without effecting
substantive changes. 32
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Prof. Gerhardt points out that there are eight differences between the impeachment power
provided in the US Constitution and the British practice: 33
First, the Founders limited impeachment only to "[t]he President, Vice President and all civil
Officers of the United States." Whereas at the time of the founding of the Republic, anyone
(except for a member of the royal family) could be impeached in England. Second, the
delegates to the Constitutional Convention narrowed the range of impeachable offenses for
public officeholders to "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors," although
the English Parliament always had refused to constrain its jurisdiction over impeachments by
restrictively defining impeachable offenses. Third, whereas the English House of Lords could
convict upon a bare majority, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention agreed that in an
impeachment trial held in the Senate, "no Person shall be convicted [and removed from office]
without the concurrence of two thirds of the Members present." Fourth, the House of Lords
could order any punishment upon conviction, but the delegates limited the punishments in the
federal impeachment process "to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy
any Office of Honor, Trust, or Profit under the United States." Fifth, the King could pardon any
person after an impeachment conviction, but the delegates expressly prohibited the President
from exercising such power in the Constitution. Sixth, the Founders provided that the President
could be impeached, whereas the King of England could not be impeached. Seventh,
impeachment proceedings in England were considered to be criminal, but the Constitution
separates criminal and impeachment proceedings. Lastly, the British provided for the removal
of their judges by several means, whereas the Constitution provides impeachment as the sole
political means of judicial removal.
It is beyond doubt that the metamorphosis which the British concept of impeachment
underwent in the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1789 did not change its political
nature. In the Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton observed:
The subject of the Senate jurisdiction [in an impeachment trial] are those offenses which
proceed from the misconduct of public man or in other words, from the abuse or violation of
some public trust. They are of a political nature which may with peculiar propriety be
denominated political, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself .
Justice James Wilson characterized impeachments as proceedings of a political nature
"confined to political characters, to political crimes and misdemeanors, and to political
punishments." 34 Another constitutionalist, McDowell emphasized: "To underscore the
inherently political nature of impeachment, the Founders went further and provided that the
right to a jury trial was to be secured for 'all crimes except in cases of impeachment.' When it
came to the President, unlike his powers to interfere with ordinary crimes, the Founders sought
to limit his power to interfere with impeachments. His power to grant reprieves and pardons
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for offenses against the United States was granted broadly 'except in cases of impeachment.'"
35
A painstaking study of state court decisions in the United States will reveal that almost
invariably state courts have declined to review decisions of the legislature involving
impeachment cases consistent with their character as political. 36 In the federal level, no less
than the US Supreme Court, thru Chief Justice Rehnquist, held in the 1993 case of Nixon v.
United States 37 that the claim that the US Senate rule which allows a mere committee of
senators to hear evidence of the impeached person violates the Constitution is non-justiciable. I
quote the ruling in extenso:
xxx xxx xxx
The history and contemporary understanding of the impeachment provisions support our
reading of the constitutional language. The parties do not offer evidence of a single word in the
history of the Constitutional Convention or in contemporary commentary that even alludes to
the possibility of judicial review in the context of the impeachment powers. See 290 US App DC,
at 424, 938 F2d, at 243; R. Berger, Impeachment: The Constitutional Problems 116 (1973). This
silence is quite meaningful in light of the several explicit references to the availability of judicial
review as a check on the Legislature's power with respect to bills of attainder, ex post facto
laws, and statutes. See the Federalist No. 78 p 524 (J. Cooke ed 1961) ("Limitations . . . can be
preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of the courts of justice").
The Framers labored over the question of where the impeachment power should lie.
Significantly, in at least two considered scenarios the power was placed with the Federal
Judiciary. See 1 Farrand 21-22 (Virginia Plan); id., at 244 (New Jersey Plan). Indeed, Madison
and the Committee of Detail proposed that the Supreme Court should have the power to
determine impeachments. See 2 id., at 551 (Madison); id., at 178-179, 186 (Committee of
Detail). Despite these proposals, the Convention ultimately decided that the Senate would have
"the sole Power to Try all Impeachments." Art I, 3, cl 6. According to Alexander Hamilton, the
Senate was the "most fit depositary of this important trust" because its members are
representatives of the people. See The Federalist No. 65, p. 440 (J. Cooke ed 1961). The
Supreme Court was not the proper body because the Framers "doubted whether the members
of that tribunal would, at all times, be endowed with so eminent a portion of fortitude as would
be called for in the execution of so difficult a task" or whether the Court "would possess the
degree of credit and authority" to carry out its judgment if it conflicted with the accusation
brought by the Legislature the people's representative. See id., at 441. In addition, the
Framers believed the Court was too small in number: "The lawful discretion, which a court of
impeachments must necessarily have, to doom to honor or to infamy the most confidential and
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the most distinguished characters of the community, forbids the commitment of the trust to a
small number of persons." Id., at 441-442.
There are two additional reasons why the Judiciary, and the Supreme Court in particular, were
not chosen to have any role in impeachments. First, the Framers recognized that most likely
there would be two sets of proceedings for individuals who commit impeachable offenses
the impeachment trial and a separate criminal trial. In fact, the Constitution explicitly provides
for two separate proceedings. See Art I, 3, cl 7. The Framers deliberately separated the two
forums to avoid raising the specter of bias and to ensure independent judgments:
Would it be proper that the persons, who had disposed of his fame and his most valuable rights
as a citizen in one trial, should in another trial, for the same offense, be also the disposers of his
life and his fortune? Would there not be the greatest reason to apprehend, that error in the
first sentence would be the parent of error in the second sentence? That the strong bias of one
decision would be apt to overrule the influence of any new lights, which might be brought to
vary the complexion of another decision? The Federalist No. 65, p 442 (J. Cooke ed 1961)
Certainly judicial review of the Senate's "trial" would introduce the same risk of bias as would
participation in the trial itself.
Second, judicial review would be inconsistent with the Framers' insistence that our system be
one of checks and balances. In our constitutional system, impeachment was designed to be the
only check on the Judicial Branch by the Legislature. On the topic of judicial accountability,
Hamilton wrote:
The precautions for their responsibility are comprised in the article respecting impeachments.
They are liable to be impeached for mal-conduct by the house of representatives, and tried by
the senate, and if convicted, may be dismissed from office and disqualified for holding any
other. This is the only provision on the point, which is consistent with the necessary
independence of the judicial character, and is the only one which we find in our own
constitution in respect to our own judges. Id., No. 79, pp. 532-533 (emphasis added)
Judicial involvement in impeachment proceedings, even if only for purposes of judicial review,
is counterintuitive because it would eviscerate the "important constitutional check" placed on
the Judiciary by the Framers. See id., No. 81, p 545.
In fine, impeachment is dominantly political in character both in England and in the United
States.
C. The Nature of Impeachment in the Philippine Setting
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Given its history, let us now consider the nature of impeachment in the Philippine setting, i.e.,
whether it is likewise political in nature. A revisit of the political question doctrine will not shock
us with the unfamiliar. In Taada v. Cuenco, 38 we held that the term political question
connotes what it means in ordinary parlance, namely, a question of policy. It refers to "those
questions which under the Constitution, are to be decided by the people in their sovereign
capacity; or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative
or executive branch of government. It is concerned with issues dependent upon the wisdom,
not legality of a particular measure." In Sanidad v. COMELEC, 39 we further held that "political
questions are not the legality of a particular act. Where the vortex of the controversy refers to
the legality or validity of the contested act, the matter is definitely justiciable or non-political."
Over the years, the core concept of political question and its contours underwent further
refinement both here and abroad. In the 1962 landmark case of Baker v. Carr, 40 Mr. Justice
Brennan, a leading light in the Warren Court known for its judicial activism, 41 delineated the
shadowy umbras and penumbras of a political question. He held:
. . . Prominent on the surface of any case held to involve a political question is found a textually
demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; or a
lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; or the impossibility of
deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for non-judicial discretion; or
the impossibility of a court's undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the
respect due coordinate branches of government; or an unusual need for unquestioning
adherence to a political decision already made; or the potentiality of embarrassment from
multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question.
The political question problem raises the issue of justiciability of the petitions at bar.
Parenthetically, the issue of justiciability is different from the issue of jurisdiction. Justiciability
refers to the suitability of a dispute for judicial resolution. 42 Mr. Justice Frankfurter considers
political question unfit for adjudication for it compels courts to intrude into the "political
thicket." In contrast, jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to entertain, try and decide a
case.
C.1. The issues at bar are justiciable
Prescinding from these premises, I shall now grapple with the threshold issue of whether the
petitions at bar pose political questions which are non-justiciable or whether they present legal
and constitutional issues over which this Court has jurisdiction. The resolution of the issue
demands a study that goes beyond the depth of the epidermis. We give the impeachment
provisions of our Constitution a historical, textual, legal and philosophical lookover.
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The historiography of our impeachment provisions will show that they were liberally lifted from
the US Constitution. Following an originalist interpretation, there is much to commend to the
thought that they are political in nature and character. The political character of impeachment
hardly changed in our 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions. Thus, among the grounds of
impeachment are "other high crimes or betrayal of public trust." 43 They hardly have any
judicially ascertainable content. The power of impeachment is textually committed to Congress,
a political branch of government. The right to accuse is exclusively given to the House of
Representatives. 44 The right to try and decide is given solely to the Senate 45 and not to the
Supreme Court. The Chief Justice has a limited part in the process to preside but without the
right to vote when the President is under impeachment. 46 Likewise, the President cannot
exercise his pardoning power in cases of impeachment. 47 All these provisions confirm the
inherent nature of impeachment as political.
Be that as it may, the purity of the political nature of impeachment has been lost. Some legal
scholars characterize impeachment proceedings as akin to criminal proceedings. Thus, they
point to some of the grounds of impeachment like treason, bribery, graft and corruption as well
defined criminal offenses. 48 They stress that the impeached official undergoes trial in the
Senate sitting as an impeachment court. 49 If found guilty, the impeached official suffers a
penalty "which shall not be further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any
office under the Republic of the Philippines." 50
I therefore respectfully submit that there is now a commixture of political and judicial
components in our reengineered concept of impeachment. It is for this reason and more that
impeachment proceedings are classified as sui generis. To be sure, our impeachment
proceedings are indigenous, a kind of its own. They have been shaped by our distinct political
experience especially in the last fifty years. EDSA People Power I resulted in the radical
rearrangement of the powers of government in the 1987 Constitution. Among others, the
powers of the President were diminished. Substantive and procedural restrictions were placed
in the President's most potent power his power as Commander-in-Chief. Thus, he can
suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof
under martial law but only for a period not exceeding sixty days. 51 Within forty-eight hours
from such suspension or proclamation, he is required to submit a report to Congress. 52 The
sufficiency of the factual basis of the suspension of habeas corpus or the proclamation of
martial law may be reviewed by the Supreme Court. 53 Similarly, the powers of the legislature
were pruned down. 54 Its power of impeachment was reconfigured to prevent abuses in its
exercise. Even while Article XI of the Constitution lodged the exercise of the power of
impeachment solely with Congress, nonetheless it defined how the procedure shall be
conducted from the first to the last step. Among the new features of the proceedings is Section
3 (5) which explicitly provides that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the
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same official more than once within a period of one year." In contrast, the 1987 Constitution
gave the Judiciary more powers. Among others, it expanded the reach and range of judicial
power by defining it as including ". . . the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government." 55 Likewise, it
expanded the rule making power of the Court. It was given the power to promulgate rules
concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights. 56
In light of our 1987 constitutional canvass, the question is whether this Court can assume
jurisdiction over the petitions at bar. As aforediscussed, the power of impeachment has both
political and non-political aspects. I respectfully submit that the petitions at bar concern its
non-political aspect, the issue of whether the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice
Davide involving the JDF is already barred by the 1-year rule under Article XI, Section 3(5) of the
Constitution. By any standard, this is a justiciable issue. As held in Casibang v. Aquino, 57 a
justiciable question implies a given right, legally demandable, and enforceable, an act or
omission violative of such right, and a remedy granted and sanctioned by law, for said breach of
right." The petitions at bar involve the right of the Chief Justice against the initiation of a second
impeachment within one year after a first impeachment complaint. The right is guaranteed by
no less than the Constitution. It is demandable. It is a right that can be vindicated in our courts.
The contention that Congress, acting in its constitutional capacity as an impeachment body, has
jurisdiction over the issues posed by the petitions at bar has no merit in light of our long
standing jurisprudence. The petitions at bar call on the Court to define the powers that divide
the jurisdiction of this Court as the highest court of the land and Congress as an impeachment
court. In the seminal case of Angara v. Electoral Commission, 58 we held that ". . . the only
constitutional organ which can be called upon to determine the proper allocation of powers
between the several departments and among the integral or constituents thereof is the judicial
department." So ruled Mr. Justice Laurel as ponente:
xxx xxx xxx
But in the main, the Constitution has blocked out with deft strokes and in bold lines, allotment
of power to the executive, the legislative and the judicial departments of the government. The
overlapping and interlacing of functions and duties between the several departments, however,
sometimes makes it hard to say just where the one leaves off and the other begins. In times of
social disquietude or political excitement, the great landmarks of the Constitution are apt to be
forgotten or marred, if not entirely obliterated. In cases of conflict, the judicial department is
the only constitutional organ which can be called upon to determine the proper allocation of
powers between the several departments and among the integral or constituent units thereof.
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xxx xxx xxx
The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature,
scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality
of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality
nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation
assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the
Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
instrument secures and guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed
"judiciary supremacy" which properly is the power of judicial review under the Constitution.
To be sure, the force to impugn the jurisdiction of this Court becomes more feeble in light of
the new Constitution which expanded the definition of judicial power as including "the duty of
the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable
and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the
Government." As well observed by retired Justice Isagani Cruz, this expanded definition of
judicial power considerably constricted the scope of political question. 59 He opined that the
language luminously suggests that this duty (and power) is available even against the executive
and legislative departments including the President and the Congress, in the exercise of their
discretionary powers. 60
We shall not be breaking grounds in striking down an act of a co-equal branch of government or
an act of an independent agency of government done in grave abuse of discretion. Article VI,
Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution provides, inter alia, that the House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal (HRET) shall be the "sole judge" of all contests relating to the election,
returns, and qualifications of the members of the House. In Bondoc v. Pineda, et al. 61 this
Court declared null and void the Resolution of the House of Representatives withdrawing the
nomination, and rescinding the election of Congressman Camasura as a member of the HRET.
His expulsion from the HRET by the House of Representatives was held not to be for a lawful
and valid cause, but to unjustly interfere with the tribunal's disposition of the Bondoc case and
deprive Bondoc of the fruits of the HRET's decision in his favor. This Court found that the House
of Representatives acted with grave abuse of discretion in removing Congressman Camasura.
Its action was adjudged to be violative of the constitutional mandate which created the HRET to
be the "sole judge" of the election contest between Bondoc and Pineda. We held that a
showing that plenary power is granted either department of government is not an obstacle to
judicial inquiry, for the improvident exercise or the abuse thereof may give rise to a justiciable
controversy. Since "a constitutional grant of authority is not unusually unrestricted, limitations
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being provided for as to what may be done and how it is to be accomplished, necessarily then,
it becomes the responsibility of the courts to ascertain whether the two coordinate branches
have adhered to the mandate of the fundamental law. The question thus posed is judicial
rather than political."
We further explained that the power and duty of courts to nullify, in appropriate cases, the
actions of the executive and legislative branches does not mean that the courts are superior to
the President and the Legislature. It does mean though that the judiciary may not shirk "the
irksome task" of inquiring into the constitutionality and legality of legislative or executive action
when a justiciable controversy is brought before the courts by someone who has been
aggrieved or prejudiced by such action. It is "a plain exercise of judicial power, the power
vested in courts to enable them to administer justice according to law. . . . It is simply a
necessary concomitant of the power to hear and dispose of a case or controversy properly
before the court, to the determination of which must be brought the test and measure of the
law." 62
In Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 we also ruled that the Electoral Commission, a
constitutional organ created for the specific purpose of determining contests relating to
election returns and qualifications of members of the National Assembly may not be interfered
with by the judiciary when and while acting within the limits of authority, but this Court has
jurisdiction over the Electoral Commission for the purpose of determining the character, scope
and extent of the constitutional grant to the commission as sole judge of all contests relating to
the election and qualifications of the members of the National Assembly.
Similarly, in Arroyo v. House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) and Augusto Syjuco,
64 we nullified the HRET's decision declaring private respondent Syjuco as the duly elected
Congressman of Makati for having been rendered in persistent and deliberate violation of the
Tribunal's own governing rules and the rules of evidence.
To be sure, this Court has reviewed not just acts of the HRET but also of the House of
Representatives itself . We passed upon the issue of whether the procedure for passing a law
provided by the Constitution was followed by the House of Representatives and the Senate in
Tolentino v. Secretary of Finance, et al. 65 involving R.A. No. 7716 or the VAT law. We ruled that
the VAT law satisfied the constitutional provision requiring that all appropriation, revenue and
tariff bills originate from the House of Representatives under Article VI, Section 24 of the 1987
Constitution. We also interpreted the constitutional provision requiring the reading of a bill on
three separate days "except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate
enactment, etc." and held that this requirement was satisfied when the bill which became R.A.
No. 7716 underwent three readings on the same day as the President certified the bill as
urgent. Finally, we interpreted the Rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives and
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held that there was nothing irregular about the conference committee including in its report an
entirely new provision not found either in the House bill or in the Senate bill as this was in
accordance with the said Rules.
The recent case of Macalintal v. COMELEC 66 on absentee voting affirmed the jurisdiction of
this Court to review the acts of the legislature. In said case, the Court settled the question of
propriety of the petition which appeared to be visited by the vice of prematurity as there were
no ongoing proceedings in any tribunal, board or before a government official exercising
judicial, quasi-judicial or ministerial functions as required by Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. The
Court considered the importance of the constitutional issues raised by the petitioner, and
quoted Taada v. Angara 67 stating that "where an action of the legislative branch is seriously
alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not only the right but in fact the duty of
the judiciary to settle the dispute."
I therefore concur with the majority that the issues posed by the petitions at bar are justiciable
and this Court has jurisdiction over them.
D. The Exercise of Jurisdiction: Theory and Limits of Judicial Restraint, Judicial Activism and the
Coordinacy Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
The next crucial question is whether the Court should now exercise its jurisdiction. Former
Senate President Salonga says not yet and counsels restraint. So do Deans Agabin and
Pangalangan of the UP College of Law. To be sure, there is much to commend in judicial
restraint. Judicial restraint in constitutional litigation is not merely a practical approach to
decision-making. With humility, I wish to discuss its philosophical underpinnings. As a judicial
stance, it is anchored on a heightened regard for democracy. It accords intrinsic value to
democracy based on the belief that democracy is an extension of liberty into the realm of social
decision-making. 68 Deference to the majority rule constitutes the flagship argument of judicial
restraint 69 which emphasizes that in democratic governance, majority rule is a necessary
principle. 70
Judicial restraint assumes a setting of a government that is democratic and republican in
character. Within this democratic and republican framework, both the apostles of judicial
restraint and the disciples of judicial activism agree that government cannot act beyond the
outer limits demarcated by constitutional boundaries without becoming subject to judicial
intervention. The issue that splits them is the location of those limits. They are divided in
delineating the territory within which government can function free of judicial intervention.
Cases raising the question of whether an act by Congress falls within the permissible
parameters of its discretion provide the litmus test on the correctness of judicial restraint as a
school of thought. The democratic value assists the judicial restraintist in arriving at an answer.
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It nudges the judge who considers democracy as an intrinsic and fundamental value to grant
that the discretion of the legislature is large and that he cannot correct any act or enactment
that comes before the court solely because it is believed to be unwise. The judge will give to the
legislature the leeway to develop social policy and apart from what the Constitution proscribes,
concede that the legislature has a "right to be wrong" and will be answerable alone to the
people for the exercise of that unique privilege. It is better for the majority to make a mistaken
policy decision, within broad limits, than for a judge to make a correct one. 71 As an unelected
official, bereft of a constituency and without any political accountability, the judge considers
that respect for majoritarian government compels him to be circumspect in invalidating, on
constitutional grounds, the considered judgments of legislative or executive officials, whose
decisions are more likely to reflect popular sentiments. 72
Judicial restraint thus gives due deference to the judiciary's co-equal political branches of
government comprised of democratically elected officials and lawmakers, and encourages
separation of powers. 73 It is consistent and congruent with the concept of balance of power
among the three independent branches of government. It does not only recognize the equality
of the other two branches with the judiciary, but fosters that equality by minimizing inter-
branch interference by the judiciary. It may also be called judicial respect, that is, respect by the
judiciary for other co-equal branches. In one of the earliest scholarly treatments of judicial
review, "The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law", published in
1893, Prof. James Bradley Thayer of Harvard established strong support for the rule that courts
should invalidate legislative acts only when their unconstitutionality is established with great
certainty. 74 Many commentators agree that early notions of judicial review adhered to a
"clear-error" rule that courts should not strike down legislation if its constitutionality were
merely subject to doubt. 75 For Thayer, full and free play must be allowed to "that wide margin
of considerations which address themselves only to the practical judgment of a legislative
body." Thayer's thesis of judicial deference had a significant influence on Justices Holmes,
Brandeis, and Frankfurter. 76 Justice Frankfurter is the philosopher of the school of thought
trumpeting judicial restraint. As he observed "if judges want to be preachers, they should
dedicate themselves to the pulpit; if judges want to be primary shapers of policy the legislature
is their place. 77 He opined that there is more need for justices of the Supreme Court to learn
the virtue of restraint for the cases they consider "leave more scope for insight, imagination
and prophetic responsibility." 78
Adherents of judicial restraint warn that under certain circumstances, the active use of judicial
review has a detrimental effect on the capacity of the democratic system to function
effectively. Restraintists hold that large-scale reliance upon the courts for resolution of public
problems could lead in the long run to atrophy of popular government and collapse of the
"broad-based political coalitions and popular accountability that are the lifeblood of the
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democratic system." 79 They allege that aggressive judicial review saps the vitality from
constitutional debate in the legislature. 80 It leads to democratic debilitation where the
legislature and the people lose the ability to engage in informed discourse about constitutional
norms. 81
Judicial restraint, however, is not without criticisms. Its unbelievers insist that the concept of
democracy must include recognition of those rights that make it possible for minorities to
become majorities. They charge that restraintists forget that minority rights are just as
important a component of the democratic equation as majority rule is. They submit that if the
Court uses its power of judicial review to guarantee rights fundamental to the democratic
process freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association and the right to suffrage so that
citizens can form political coalitions and influence the making of public policy, then the Court
would be just as "democratic" as Congress.
Critics of judicial restraint further stress that under this theory, the minority has little influence,
if at all it can participate, in the political process. Laws will reflect the beliefs and preferences of
the majority, i.e., the mainstream or median groups. 82 The restraintist's position that
abridgments of free speech, press, and association and other basic constitutional rights should
be given the same deference as is accorded legislation affecting property rights, will perpetuate
suppression of political grievances. Judicial restraint fails to recognize that in the very act of
adopting and accepting a constitution and the limits it specifies, the majority imposes upon
itself a self-denying ordinance. It promises not to do what it otherwise could do: to ride
roughshod over the dissenting minorities. 83 Thus, judicial activists hold that the Court's
indispensable role in a system of government founded on doctrines of separation of powers
and checks and balances is a legitimator of political claims and a catalyst for the aggrieved to
coalesce and assert themselves in the democratic process. 84
I most respectfully submit, however, that the 1987 Constitution adopted neither judicial
restraint nor judicial activism as a political philosophy to the exclusion of each other. The
expanded definition of judicial power gives the Court enough elbow room to be more activist in
dealing with political questions but did not necessarily junk restraint in resolving them. Political
questions are not undifferentiated questions. They are of different variety.
The antagonism between judicial restraint and judicial activism is avoided by the coordinacy
theory of constitutional interpretation. This coordinacy theory gives room for judicial restraint
without allowing the judiciary to abdicate its constitutionally mandated duty to interpret the
constitution. Coordinacy theory rests on the premise that within the constitutional system,
each branch of government has an independent obligation to interpret the Constitution. This
obligation is rooted on the system of separation of powers. 85 The oath to "support this
Constitution," which the constitution mandates judges, legislators and executives to take
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proves this independent obligation. Thus, the coordinacy theory accommodates judicial
restraint because it recognizes that the President and Congress also have an obligation to
interpret the constitution. In fine, the Court, under the coordinacy theory, considers the
preceding constitutional judgments made by other branches of government. By no means
however, does it signify complete judicial deference. Coordinacy means courts listen to the
voice of the President and Congress but their voice does not silence the judiciary. The doctrine
in Marbury v. Madison 86 that courts are not bound by the constitutional interpretation of
other branches of government still rings true. As well stated, "the coordinacy thesis is quite
compatible with a judicial deference that accommodates the views of other branches, while not
amounting to an abdication of judicial review." 87
With due respect, I cannot take the extreme position of judicial restraint that always defers on
the one hand, or judicial activism that never defers on the other. I prefer to take the contextual
approach of the coordinacy theory which considers the constitution's allocation of decision-
making authority, the constitution's judgments as to the relative risks of action and inaction by
each branch of government, and the fears and aspirations embodied in the different provisions
of the constitution. The contextual approach better attends to the specific character of
particular constitutional provisions and calibrates deference or restraint accordingly on a case
to case basis. In doing so, it allows the legislature adequate leeway to carry out their
constitutional duties while at the same time ensuring that any abuse does not undermine
important constitutional principles. 88
I shall now proceed to balance these constitutional values. Their correct calibration will compel
the conclusion that this Court should defer the exercise of its ultimate jurisdiction over the
petitions at bar out of prudence and respect to the initial exercise by the legislature of its
jurisdiction over impeachment proceedings. First, judicial deferment of judgment gives due
recognition to the unalterable fact that the Constitution expressly grants to the House of
Representatives the "exclusive" power to initiate impeachment proceedings and gives to the
Senate the "sole" power to try and decide said cases. The grant of this power the right to
accuse on the part of the House and the right to try on the part of the Senate to Congress is
not a happenstance. At its core, impeachment is political in nature and hence its initiation and
decision are best left, at least initially, to Congress, a political organ of government. The political
components of impeachment are dominant and their appreciation are not fit for judicial
resolution. Indeed, they are beyond the loop of judicial review. Second, judicial deferment will,
at the very least, stop our descent to a constitutional crisis. Only those with the armor of
invincible ignorance will cling to the fantasy that a stand-off between this Court and Congress at
this time will not tear asunder our tenuous unity. There can be no debate on the proposition
that impeachment is designed to protect the principles of separation of powers and checks and
balances, the glue that holds together our government. If we weaken the glue, we shall be
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flirting with the flame of disaster. An approach that will bring this Court to an irreversible
collision with Congress, a collision where there will be no victors but victims alone, is
indefensible. The 1924 case of Alejandrino v. Quezon 89 teaches us that the system of checks
and balances should not disturb or harm the harmony in government. This theme resonates in
the 1936 case of Angara v. Electoral Commission, where Justice Laurel brightlined the
desideratum that the principle of checks and balances is meant "to secure coordination in the
workings of the various departments of the government." Our government has three branches
but it has but one purpose to preserve our democratic republican form of government
and I refuse to adopt an approach that refuses to reconcile the powers of government. Third,
the Court should strive to work out a constitutional equilibrium where each branch of
government cannot dominate each other, an equilibrium where each branch in the exercise of
its distinct power should be left alone yet bereft of a license to abuse. It is our hands that will
cobble the components of this delicate constitutional equilibrium. In the discharge of this duty,
Justice Frankfurter requires judges to exhibit that "rare disinterestedness of mind and purpose,
a freedom from intellectual and social parochialism." The call for that quality of "rare
disinterestedness" should counsel us to resist the temptation of unduly inflating judicial power
and deflating the executive and legislative powers. The 1987 Constitution expanded the
parameters of judicial power, but that by no means is a justification for the errant thought that
the Constitution created an imperial judiciary. An imperial judiciary composed of the unelected,
whose sole constituency is the blindfolded lady without the right to vote, is counter-
majoritarian, hence, inherently inimical to the central ideal of democracy. We cannot pretend
to be an imperial judiciary for in a government whose cornerstone rests on the doctrine of
separation of powers, we cannot be the repository of all remedies. It is true that this Court has
been called the conscience of the Constitution and the last bulwark of constitutional
government. 90 But that does not diminish the role of the legislature as co-guardian of the
Constitution. In the words of Justice Cardozo, the "legislatures are ultimate guardians of the
liberties and welfare of the people in quite as great a degree as courts." 91 Indeed, judges take
an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution but so do our legislators. Fourth, we have the
jurisdiction to strike down impermissible violations of constitutional standards and procedure in
the exercise of the power of impeachment by Congress but the timing when the Court must
wield its corrective certiorari power rests on prudential considerations. I agree that judicial
review is no longer a matter of power for if it were power alone we can refuse to exercise it and
yet be right. As well put by Justice Brandeis, "the most important thing we decide is what not to
decide." Indeed, judicial review is now a matter of duty, and it is now wrong to abdicate its
exercise. Be that as it may, the timing of its exercise depends on the sense of the situation by
the Court and its sense depends on the exigencies created by the motion and movement of the
impeachment proceedings and its impact on the interest of our people. We are right in ruling
we have jurisdiction but the wrong timing of the exercise of our jurisdiction can negate the
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existence of our very jurisdiction and with catastrophic consequence. The words of former
Senate President Jovito Salonga, an amicus curiae, ought to bridle our rush to judgment this
Court will eventually have jurisdiction but not yet. I quote his disquisition, viz:
Assuming the question of propriety can be surmounted, should the Supreme Court render a
decision at this time?
This brings us back to the realities of the 2nd Impeachment Complaint and the question of
propriety posed earlier.
1. There are moves going on to get enough members of Congress to withdraw their
signatures down to 75 or less, even before the resumption of the sessions on November 10,
2003, so as to render this whole controversy moot and academic. Malacaang is also pushing
for a Covenant which may or may not succeed in ending the controversy.
2. Assuming the desired number of withdrawals is not achieved and the Covenant does not
gain enough support among the NPC congressmen, there are still a number of steps to be taken
in the House in connection with the First Impeachment Complaint before the Second
Impeachment Complaint can be transmitted to the Senate. Moreover, if it is true that the
House Committee on Justice has not yet finished its inquiry into the administration of the
Judicial Development Fund, the Committee may be persuaded to call the officials of the
Commission on Audit to explain the COA Special Audit Report of September 5, 2003 and help
the Committee Chair and members to carry out and complete their work, so the Committee can
submit its Report to the entire House for its information and approval.
I understand a number of congressmen may also raise the question of
compliance with the due process clause in handling the Impeachment Complaint against Chief
Justice Davide, particularly the twin requirements of notice and hearing. It may be too early to
predict whether the House session on November 10, 2003 (and perhaps in the succeeding
days), will be smooth and easy or rough and protracted. Much will depend on developments
after this hearing in this Court (on November 5). In politics, it has been said, one day
especially in Congress can be a long, long time.
3. Whatever happens in the House, a lot of things can happen outside in the streets, in
the stock market, in media, in Government and in public assemblies throughout the country. All
these will have a great bearing on what happens in the House and in the Senate.
4. If the 2nd Impeachment Complaint finally reaches the Senate, a number of things can be
done before the Senate is convened as an Impeachment Court. For example, the Senate, which
has the primary jurisdiction over the case, can decide the question of whether the one-year ban
has been violated or not. Likewise, the Senate can decide whether the Complaint, on its face,
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has any legal basis. Considering, among other things, that only two congressmen filed the 2nd
Impeachment Complaint the other congressmen were mere endorsers the Complaint
cannot qualify for Senate Impeachment trial as pointed out by Attys. Macalintal and Quadra.
Dismissal of the 2nd Impeachment Complaint can be done by the Senate motu proprio or
through a Motion to Quash filed on behalf of Chief Justice Davide. If the Senate decides that the
one-year ban has been violated or that the Complaint on its face has no leg to stand on, this
could be the end of the whole controversy.
My point is that there may be no urgent need for this august tribunal to render a decision at
this point. The Supreme Court, which has final jurisdiction on questions of constitutionality,
should be the final arbiter; it should be the authoritative court of last resort in our system of
democratic governance. In my view, all the remedies in the House and in the Senate should be
exhausted first. Only when this case is ripe for judicial determination can the Supreme Court
speak with great moral authority and command the respect and loyalty of our people.
Few will dispute that former Senate President Salonga has the power of a piercing insight.
C O N C L U S I O N
In summary, I vote as follows:
1. grant the locus standi of the petitioners considering the transcendental constitutional
issues presented;
2. hold that it is within the power of this Court to define the division of powers of the
branches of government;
3. hold that the alleged violation of Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution which
provides that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more
than once within a period of one year" is a justiciable issue and hence within the competence of
this Court to decide; and
4. hold that the coordinacy theory of constitutional interpretation and prudential
considerations demand that this Court defer the exercise of its certiorari jurisdiction on the
issue of alleged violation of Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution until after the remedies
against impeachment still available in both the House of Representatives and the Senate shall
have been exhausted.
In light of the above, I vote to dismiss the petitions at bar.
VITUG, J .:
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"THE PHILIPPINES IS A DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN STATE. SOVEREIGNTY RESIDES IN THE
PEOPLE AND ALL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY EMANATES FROM THEM." 1
A Republican form of government rests on the conviction that sovereignty should reside in the
people and that all government authority must emanate from them. It abhors the
concentration of power on one or a few, cognizant that power, when absolute, can lead to
abuse, but it also shuns a direct and unbridled rule by the people, a veritable kindling to the
passionate fires of anarchy. Our people have accepted this notion and decided to delegate the
basic state authority to principally three branches of government the Executive, the
Legislative, and the Judiciary each branch being supreme in its own sphere but with
constitutional limits and a firm tripod of checks and balances. The Constitution is the written
manifestation of the sovereign will of the people. It is the yardstick upon which every act of
governance is tested and measured.
Today, regrettably, a looming threat of an overreaching arm of a "co-equal" branch of
government would appear to be perceived by many. On 02 June 2003, a complaint for
impeachment was filed before the House of Representatives against the Chief Justice of the
Philippines and seven associate justices of the Supreme Court. On 23 October 2003, a second
complaint for impeachment was filed by two members of the House, endorsed by at least one-
third of its membership, but this time, only against the Chief Justice.
People took to the streets; media reported what it termed to be an inevitable constitutional
crisis; the business sector became restive; and various other sectors expressed alarm. The Court
itself was swarmed with petitions asking the declaration by it of the total nullity of the second
impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice for being violative of the constitutional
proscription against the filing of more than one impeachment complaint against the same
impeachable officer within a single year.
Thus, once again, yet perhaps one of the toughest test in its more than one hundred years of
existence, the Court, has been called upon to act. Involved are no longer just hypothetical
principles best left as fodder for academic debate; this time, the core values of separation of
powers among the co-equal branches of the government, the principle of checks and balances,
and explicit constitutional mandates and concepts come into sharp focus and serious scrutiny.
Must the Supreme Court come into grips and face the matter squarely? Or must it tarry from its
duty to act swiftly and decisively under the umbrella of judicial restraint?
The circumstances might demand that the Court must act dispassionately and seasonably.
Nothing in our history suggests that impeachment was existent in the Philippines prior to the
1935 Constitution. Section 21 of the Jones Law only mentions of an executive officer whose
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official title shall be "the Governor General of the Philippine Islands" and provides that he holds
office at the pleasure of the President and until his successor is chosen and qualified. 2 The
impeachment provision, which appeared for the first time in the 1935 Constitution was
obviously a transplant, among many, of an American precept into the Philippine landscape.
The earliest system of impeachment existed in ancient Greece, in a process called eisangelia. 3
In its modern form, the proceeding first made its appearance in 14th century England in an
attempt by the fledgling parliament to gain authority over the advisers, ministers and judges of
the monarch who was then considered incapable of any wrongdoing. 4 The first recorded case
was in 1376, when Lords Latimer and Neville, together with four commoners, were charged
with crimes, i.e., for removing the staple from Calais, for lending the King's money at usurious
interest, and for buying Crown debts for small sums and paying themselves in full out of the
Treasury. 5 Since the accession of James I in 1603, the process was heavily utilized, 6 its
application only declining and eventually becoming lost to obsolescence during the 19th
century when, with the rise of the doctrine of ministerial responsibility, the parliament, by
mere vote of censure or "no confidence", could expeditiously remove an erring official. 7 It was
last used in England in 1806, in an unsuccessful attempt to remove Lord Melville. 8
While the procedure was dying out in England, the framers of the United States Constitution
embraced it as a "method of national inquest into the conduct of public men." 9 The provision
in the American Federal Constitution on impeachment simply read
"The President, Vice-President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from
Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and
Misdemeanors." 10
While the American impeachment procedure was shaped in no small part by the English
experience, 11 records of the US Constitutional Convention would reveal that the Framers took
pains to distinguish American impeachment from British practice. 12 Some notable differences
included the fact that in the United States, the proceedings might be directed against civil
officials such as the chief of state, members of the cabinet and those in the judiciary. In
England, it could be applied against private citizens, or commoners, for treason and other high
crimes and misdemeanors; and to peers, for any crime. 13 While the British parliament had
always refused to contain its jurisdiction by restrictively defining impeachable offenses, the US
Constitution narrowed impeachable offenses to treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors. English impeachments partook the nature of a criminal proceeding; while the
US Constitution treated impeachment rather differently. 14 Variations of the process could be
found in other jurisdictions. In Belgium, France, India, Italy, and in some states in the United
States, it had been the courts, which conducted trial. 15 In Republic of China (Taiwan) and
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Cuba, it would be an executive body which could initiate impeachment proceedings against
erring civil officials. 16
The 1987 Constitution provides, under its Sections 2 and 3, Article XI, the skeletal constitutional
framework of the impeachment process in the Philippines
Section 2. The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the
Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from
office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason,
bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public
officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by
impeachment.
Section 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee or override its
contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the
Senate.
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(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office
and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and punishment
according to law.
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section.
As a proceeding, impeachment might be so described thusly First, it is legal and political in
nature and, second, it is sui generis neither a criminal or administrative proceeding, but
partaking a hybrid characteristic of both and retaining the requirement of due process basic to
all proceedings. 17 Its political nature is apparent from its function as being a constitutional
measure designed to protect the State from official delinquencies and malfeasance, the
punishment of the offender being merely incidental. 18 Although impeachment is intended to
be non-partisan, the power to impeach is nevertheless lodged in the House of Representatives,
whose members are highly responsive to political and partisan influences. The trial by the
Senate is thought to reduce the likelihood of an impeachment case being decided solely along
political lines. With its character of being part criminal and part administrative, carrying the
punitive sanction not only of removal and disqualification from office but likewise the
stigmatization of the offender, 19 an impeachment proceeding does not exactly do away with
basic evidentiary rules and rudimentary due process requirements of notice and hearing.
The House of Representatives is the repository of the power to indict; it has the "exclusive
power to initiate all cases of impeachment." But, unlike the American rule 20 from which ours
has been patterned, this power is subject to explicit Constitutional guidelines and proscriptions.
Its political discretion extends, albeit within constitutional parameters, to the formulation of its
rules of impeachment and the determination of what could constitute impeachable offenses.
The impeachable offenses of "bribery," "graft and corruption" and "treason" are clearly defined
in criminal statute books. The terms "high crimes", "betrayal of public trust", and "culpable
violation of the Constitution," however, elude exact definition, and by their nature, cannot be
decided simply by reliance on parsing criminal law books 21 but, although nebulous, all three
obviously pertain to 'fitness for public office,' the determination of which allows the exercise of
discretion. Excluding any definite checklist of impeachable offenses in the Constitution is a wise
measure meant to ensure that the House is not unduly impeded by unwise restrictive
measures, which may be rendered obsolete with a changed milieu; 22 otherwise, it would have
made more sense to give the power to the judiciary, which is the designated arbiter of cases
under traditionally determinate or readily determinable rules. 23 A broad grant of powers,
nonetheless, can lead to apprehensions that Congress may extend impeachment to any kind of
misuse of office that it may find intolerable. 24 At one point, Gerald Ford has commented that
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"an impeachable offense is whatever the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given
moment." 25
The discretion, broad enough to be sure, should still be held bound by the dictates of the
Constitution that bestowed it. Thus, not all offenses, statutory or perceived, are impeachable
offenses. While some particular misconduct might reveal a shortcoming in the integrity of the
official, the same may not necessarily interfere with the performance of his official duties or
constitute an unacceptable risk to the public so as to constitute an impeachable offense. Other
experts suggest the rule of ejusdem generis, i.e., that "other high crimes," "culpable violation of
the constitution" and "betrayal of public trust" should be construed to be on the same level and
of the same quality as treason or bribery. George Mason has dubbed them to be "great crimes,"
"great and dangerous offenses," and "great attempts to subvert the Constitution," 26 which
must, according to Alexander Hamilton, be also offenses that proceed from abuse or violation
of some public trust, and must "relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to society itself." 27
These political offenses should be of a nature, which, with peculiar propriety, would cause harm
to the social structure. 28 Otherwise, opines James Madison, any unbridled power to define
may make impeachment too easy and would effectively make an official's term subject to the
pleasure of Congress, thereby greatly undermining the separation of powers. Thus, where the
House of Representatives, through its conduct or through the rules it promulgates,
transgresses, in any way, the detailed procedure prescribed in the Constitution, the issue is far
removed from the sphere of a "political question," which arises with the exercise of a conferred
discretion, and transformed into a constitutional issue falling squarely within the jurisdictional
ambit of the Supreme Court as being the interpreter of the fundamental law.
The issue of "political question" is traditionally seen as an effective bar against the exercise of
judicial review. The term connotes what it means, a question of policy, i.e., those issues which,
under the Constitution, are to be decided by the people in their sovereign capacity in regard to
which full discretionary authority has been delegated to either the Legislature or Executive
branch of the government. It is concerned with the wisdom, not with the legality, of a particular
act or measure. 29
The Court should not consider the issue of "political question" as foreclosing judicial review on
an assailed act of a branch of government in instances where discretion has not, in fact, been
vested, yet assumed and exercised. Where, upon the other hand, such discretion is given, the
"political question doctrine" may be ignored only if the Court sees such review as necessary to
void an action committed with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction. In the latter case, the constitutional grant of the power of judicial review vested by
the Philippine Constitution on the Supreme Court is rather clear and positive, certainly and
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textually broader and more potent than where it has been borrowed. The Philippine
Constitution states 30
"Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
"Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the Government." 31
Even before it emerged in the 1987 Constitution, early jurisprudence, more than once,
supported the principle. In Avelino vs. Cuenco, 32 the Court passed upon the internal rules of
the Senate to determine whether the election of Senator Cuenco to the Senate Presidency was
attended by a quorum. In Macias vs. COMELEC, 33 the Court rejected American precedents and
held the apportionment of representative districts as not being a political question. In Taada
vs. Macapagal, 34 the Supreme Court took cognizance of the dispute involving the formation of
the Senate Electoral Tribunal. In Cunanan vs. Tan, 35 the Court pronounced judgment on
whether the Court had formed the Commission on Appointments in accordance with the
directive of the Constitution. In Lansing vs. Garcia 36 , the Court held that the suspension of the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus was not a political question because the Constitution had
set limits to executive discretion.
To be sure, the 1987 Constitution has, in good measure, "narrowed the reach of the 'political
question doctrine' by expanding the power of judicial review of the Supreme Court not only to
settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable but
also to determine whether or not grave abuse of discretion has attended an act of any branch
or instrumentality of government. 37
When constitutional limits or proscriptions are expressed, discretion is effectively withheld.
Thus, issues pertaining to who are impeachable officers, the number of votes necessary to
impeach and the prohibition against initiation of impeachment proceeding twice against the
same official in a single year, provided for in Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article XI of the
Constitution, verily are subject to judicial inquiry, and any violation or disregard of these explicit
Constitutional mandates can be struck down by the Court in the exercise of judicial power. In so
doing, the Court does not thereby arrogate unto itself, let alone assume superiority over, nor
undue interference into the domain of, a co-equal branch of government, but merely fulfills its
constitutional duty to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution. 38 The Judiciary may be the
weakest among the three branches of government but it concededly and rightly occupies the
post of being the ultimate arbiter on, and the adjudged sentinel of, the Constitution.
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Recent developments in American jurisprudence, steeped only in cautious traditions, would
allow recourse to the judiciary in areas primarily seen as being left to the domain of the
discretionary powers of the other two branches of government. In Nixon vs. United States 39 ,
Walter L. Nixon, Jr., an impeached federal court judge, assailed the impeachment procedure of
the Senate before the Supreme Court. Speaking for the Court, Chief Justice Rehnquist
acknowledged that courts defer to the Senate as to the conduct of trial but he, nevertheless,
held
"In the case before us, there is no separate provision of the Constitution which could be
defeated by allowing the Senate final authority to determine the meaning of the word "try" in
the Impeachment Trial Clause. We agree with Nixon that courts possess power to review either
legislative or executive action that transgresses identifiable textual limits. As we have made
clear, "whether the action (of either Legislative or Executive Branch) exceeds whatever
authority has been committed, is itself a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation, and is
the responsibility of this Court as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution."
In his separate opinion, Justice Souter also considered the legal possibility of judicial
interference if the Senate trial were to ignore fundamental principles of fairness so as to put to
grave doubt the integrity of the trial itself 40
"If the Senate were to act in a manner seriously threatening the integrity of its results,
convicting, say, upon a coin toss or upon a summary determination that an officer of the United
States was simply "a bad guy" judicial interference might well be appropriate. In such
circumstances, the Senate's action might be so far beyond the scope of its constitutional
authority and the consequent impact on the Republic so great, as to merit a judicial response
despite the prudential concerns that would ordinarily counsel silence."
In the earlier case of Powell vs. McCormick, 41 the US Supreme Court has ruled that while
Congress possesses the power to exclude and expel its members, judicial review would be
proper to determine whether Congress has followed the proper procedure for making the
political decision committed to it by the Constitution. Powell has clarified that while the Court
cannot interfere with the decision of the House to exclude its members, it nonetheless is within
its powers to ensure that Congress follows the constitutional standards for expulsion. 42 Powell
demonstrates, first, that whether a matter is a political question depends on the fit between
the actual legal procedure chosen by Congress and the circumstances to which Congress
attempts to apply the procedure and, second, that the choice and application of a procedure by
Congress are reviewable by the federal courts to ensure that Congress has done no more than
the Constitution allows. 43
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Summing up, a Constitutional expert, Jonathan Turley observes that there may be judicial
review of static constitutional provisions on impeachment while leaving actual decisions of
either house unreviewable, 44 and any departure from the constitutionally mandated process
would be subject to corrective ruling by the courts. 45
Petitioners contend that respondents committed grave abuse of discretion when they
considered the second complaint for impeachment in defiance of the constitutional prohibition
against initiating more than one complaint for impeachment against the same official within a
single year. Indeed, Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the 1987 Constitution is explicit. "No
impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a
period of one year." But respondents, citing House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment
Proceedings, argue that a complaint is deemed initiated only in three instances: 1) when there
is a finding by the Committee on Justice that the verified complaint or resolution is sufficient in
substance, 2) when the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding of the said Committee,
and 3), upon filing of the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment with the Secretary
general after a verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed or endorsed by at least
1/3 of the members of the House. 46 Thus, respondents assert that the first complaint against
the Chief Justice could not qualify as an "initiated complaint" as to effectively bar the second
complaint. Petitioners, however, insist that "initiation," as so used in the Constitution, should
be understood in its simple sense, that is, when the complaint for impeachment is filed before
the House and the latter starts to act thereon.
I would second the view 47 that the term "initiate" should be construed as the physical act of
filing the complaint, coupled with an action by the House taking cognizance of it, i.e., referring
the complaint to the proper Committee. Evidently, the House of Representatives had taken
cognizance of the first complaint and acted on it 1) The complaint was filed on 02 June 2003
by former President Joseph Estrada along with the resolutions of endorsement signed by three
members of the House of Representatives; 2) on 01 August 2003, the Speaker of the House
directed the chairman of the House Committee on Rules, to include in the Order of Business the
complaint; 3) on 13 October 2003, the House Committee on Justice included the complaint in
its Order of Business and ruled that the complaint was sufficient in form; and 4) on 22 October
2003, the House Committee on Justice dismissed the complaint for impeachment against the
eight justices, including Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., of the Supreme Court, for being
insufficient in substance. The following day, on 23 October 2003, the second impeachment
complaint was filed by two members of the House of Representatives, accompanied by an
endorsement signed by at least one-third of its membership, against the Chief Justice.
Some final thoughts. The provisions expressed in the Constitution are mandatory. The highly
political nature of the power to impeach can make the proceeding easily fraught with grave
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danger. Hamilton uncannily foresaw in the impeachment process a potential cause of great
divide "In many cases, it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all
their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such
cases, there will be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the
comparative strength of the parties than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt." 48
This forewarning should emphasize that impeachment is a remedy and a tool for justice and
public good and never intended to be used for personal or party gain.
Despite having conceded the locus standi of petitioners and the jurisdiction of the Court, some
would call for judicial restraint. I entertain no doubt that the advice is well-meant and
understandable. But the social unrest and division that the controversy has generated and the
possibility of a worsening political and constitutional crisis, when there should be none, do not
appear to sustain that idea; indeed, the circumstances could well be compelling reasons for the
Court to put a lid on an impending simmering foment before it erupts. In my view, the Court
must do its task now if it is to maintain its credibility, its dependability, and its independence. It
may be weak, but it need not be a weakling. The keeper of the fundamental law cannot afford
to be a bystander, passively watching from the sidelines, lest events overtake it, make it
impotent, and seriously endanger the Constitution and what it stands for. In the words of US
Chief Justice Marshall
"It is most true that this Court will not take jurisdiction if it should not; but it is equally true,
that it must take jurisdiction if it should. The judiciary cannot, as the legislature may, avoid a
measure because it approaches the confines of the constitution. We cannot pass it by because
it is doubtful. With whatever doubts, with whatever difficulties, a case may be attended, we
must decide it, if it be brought before us. We have no more right to decline the exercise of a
jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. The one or the other would be
treason to the Constitution." 49
The issues have polarized the nation, the Courts action will be viewed with criticism, whichever
way it goes, but to remain stoic in the face of extant necessity is a greater risk. The Supreme
Court is the chosen guardian of the Constitution. Circumspection and good judgment dictate
that the holder of the lamp must quickly protect it from the gusts of wind so that the flame can
continue to burn.
I vote to grant the petitions on the foregoing basic issue hereinbefore expressed.
Austria-Martinez, J ., concurs.
PANGANIBAN, J ., concurring:
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I agree with the incisive ponencia of Mme. Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales that the Court has
jurisdiction over the Petitions, and that the second Impeachment Complaint is unconstitutional.
However, I write to explain a few matters, some of which are uniquely relevant to my
participation and vote in these consolidated cases.
Reasons for My Initial Inhibition
It will be recalled that when these consolidated Petitions were first taken up by this Court on
October 28, 2003, I immediately inhibited myself, because one of herein petitioners, 1 Dean
Antonio H. Abad Jr., was one of my partners when I was still practicing law. In all past litigations
before the Court in which he was a party or a counsel, I had always inhibited myself.
Furthermore, one of our eight invited amici curiae was former Senate President Jovito R.
Salonga. I had always recused myself from all the cases before the Court in which he was
involved. For instance, I did not take part in Bayan v. Zamora 2 because of my "close personal
and former professional relations with a petitioner, Sen. J.R. Salonga." In Love God Serve Man,
a book I wrote in 1994, prior to my appointment to the Supreme Court I explained my
deeply rooted personal and professional relationship with Senator Salonga, which for brevity I
will just quote in a footnote below. 3
There is also the lingering thought that the judgment I may make in these consolidated cases
may present a conflict of interest because of the following considerations:
1. It may personally benefit me, considering that I am one of the eight justices who were
charged by former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in the first Impeachment Complaint; thus,
a ruling barring the initiation of the second Impeachment Complaint within one year from that
of the first would also proscribe any future indictment against me within the same period.
2. As a member of the Court, I used some facilities purchased or constructed with the
Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).
3. I voted in favor of several unanimous en banc Resolutions of the Court affirming JDF
expenditures recommended by some of its committees. 4
Despite my desired inhibition, however, the Court, in its Resolution dated October 28, 2003,
"directed [me] to participate" in these cases. My colleagues believed that these Petitions
presented novel and transcendental constitutional questions that necessitated the participation
of all justices. Indeed, if the divergent views of several amici curiae, including retired SC
members, had been sought, why not relax the stringent requirements of recusation and require
the participation of all incumbent associate justices?
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And so, by reason of that Resolution, I had joined my colleagues in interacting with the "friends
of the Court," the parties and their counsel in the lengthy but enlightening Oral Argument
which lasted from morning to evening on November 5 and 6, 2003 and in the deliberations
with my colleagues every day since then, including November 8 (Saturday) and November 9
(Sunday), 2003. Of course, I also meticulously pored over the written submissions of the parties
and carefully referred to relevant laws and jurisprudence.
I will no longer argue for or against the thought-provoking historical, philosophical,
jurisprudential and prudential reasonings excellently put forward in the ponencia of Justice
Conchita Carpio-Morales and in the various Separate Opinions of my colleagues. I will just point
out a few items that I believe are markedly relevant to my situation.
Consolations vis--vis My Desired Inhibition
First, although I have been given no choice by the Court except to participate, I still constantly
kept in mind the grounds I had initially raised in regard to my recusation. Now, I take the
consolation that although Dean Abad is a petitioner here, he however does not have a personal
or direct interest in the controversy. Hence, any ruling I make or any vote I cast will not
adversely affect him or redound to his direct or pecuniary benefit. On the other hand, Senator
Salonga participated in this case neither as a party nor as a counsel, but as an amicus curiae.
Thus, he is someone who was invited by the Court to present views to enlighten it in resolving
the difficult issues in these cases, and not necessarily to advocate the cause of either
petitioners or respondents. In fact, as will be shown later, I am taking a position not identical to
his.
During the Oral Argument on November 5, 2003, Amicus Joaquin G. Bernas shed some light on
my question regarding the conflict of interest problem I have herein referred to earlier. He
explained that in Perfecto v. Meer, 5 the Court had issued a judgment that, like in the present
case, benefited its members because, inter alia, "jurisdiction may not be declined"; and the
issue "involved the right of other constitutional officers . . . equally protected by the
Constitution."
In addition, Atty. Jose Bernas, counsel for Petitioners Baterina et al., 6 also cited Nitafan v.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 7 in which the Court in upholding the intent behind
Article VIII, Section 10 of the Constitution had in fact ruled in a manner adverse to the
interest of its members. This fact shows that in taking action over matters affecting them,
justices are capable of ruling against their own interest when impelled by law and
jurisprudence.
Furthermore, in Abbas v. Senate Electoral Tribunal 8 (SET), the petitioners therein had sought
to disqualify the senators who were members thereof from an election contest before the SET,
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on the ground that they were interested parties. The Court held that "the proposed mass
disqualification, if sanctioned and ordered, would leave the Tribunal no alternative but to
abandon a duty that no other court or body can perform, but which it cannot lawfully discharge
if shorn of the participation of its entire membership of Senators." The Court further explained:
9
"To our mind, this is the overriding consideration that the Tribunal be not prevented from
discharging a duty which it alone has the power to perform, the performance of which is in the
highest public interest as evidenced by its being expressly imposed by no less than the
fundamental law."
Moreover, the Court had the occasion to hold recently in Estrada v. Desierto 10 that "to
disqualify any of the members of the Court, particularly a majority of them, is nothing short of
pro tanto depriving the Court itself of its jurisdiction as established by the fundamental law. . . .
It affects the very heart of judicial independence."
Indeed, in the instant cases, the judgment will affect not just Supreme Court justices but also
other high officials like the President, the Vice President and the members of the various
constitutional commissions. Besides, the Petitions are asking for the resolution of
transcendental questions, a duty which the Constitution mandates the Court to do. And if the
six 11 other justices who, like me, were named respondents in the first Impeachment
Complaint were also to inhibit themselves due to possible conflict of interest, the Court
would be left without a majority (only seven would remain), and thus deprived of its
jurisdiction. In a similar vein, the Court had opined in Perfecto that "judges would indeed be
hapless guardians of the Constitution if they did not perceive and block encroachments upon
their prerogatives in whatever form." 12
The Court's Assumption of Jurisdiction Mandated by the 1987 Constitution
Second, in regard to the merits of the Petitions, unlike the 1973 and the 1935 Constitutions, the
1987 Constitution 13 in Article VIII, Section 1 thereof imposes upon the Supreme Court
the duty to strike down the acts of "any branch or instrumentality of the government"
whenever these are performed "with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction."
During the Oral Argument on November 5, 2003 when the Court interacted with Justice Florenz
D. Regalado, an amicus curiae, I pointed out that this unique provision of our 1987 Constitution
differentiated the Philippine concept of judicial review from that held in the United States (US).
Unlike the US Constitution, Article VIII, Section 1 of our present Constitution, is very specific as
to what our courts must do: not only to settle actual controversies involving legally demandable
and enforceable rights, but also to determine whether there has been grave abuse of discretion
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amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the
government."
Article VIII, Section 1, was crafted, precisely to remedy the judicial cop-outs that characterized
the Martial Law era, during which the Court had invariably found its hands tied (or had
conveniently avoided involvement) when faced with questions that were allegedly political in
nature. 14 As a result, the Court at the time was unable to check all the constitutional excesses
of the executive and the legislative branches of government.
Thus, during the crafting of the 1987 Constitution, one of the eminent members of the
Constitutional Commission, former Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion, actively sought to expand
the scope of judicial review in definitive terms. The former Chief Justice, who authored Article
VIII, Section 1, explained that the Supreme Court may not under any circumstance evade its
duty to settle disputes involving grave abuse of discretion: 15
". . . [T]he powers of government are generally considered divided into three branches: the
Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary. Each one is supreme within its own sphere and
independent of the others. Because of that supremacy[, the] power to determine whether a
given law is valid or not is vested in courts of justice.
"Briefly stated, courts of justice determine the limits of power of the agencies and offices of the
government as well as those of its officers. In other words, the judiciary is the final arbiter on
the question whether or not a branch of government or any of its officials has acted without
jurisdiction or in excess of jurisdiction, or so capriciously as to constitute an abuse of discretion
amounting to excess of jurisdiction or lack of jurisdiction. This is not only a judicial power but a
duty to pass judgment on matters of this nature.
"This is the background of paragraph 2 of Section 1 [of Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution],
which means that the courts cannot hereafter evade the duty to settle matters of this nature,
by claiming that such matters constitute a political question." (Emphasis supplied.)
In effect, even if the question posed before the Court appears to be political in nature
meaning, one that involves a subject over which the Constitution grants exclusive and/or sole
authority either to the executive or to the legislative branch of the government the Court
may still resolve the question if it entails a determination of grave abuse of discretion or
unconstitutionality. The question becomes justiciable when the Constitution provides
conditions, limitations or restrictions in the exercise of a power vested upon a specific branch
or instrumentality. When the Court resolves the question, it is not judging the wisdom of an act
of a coequal department, but is merely ensuring that the Constitution is upheld.
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The US Constitution does not impose upon its judiciary a similar duty to strike down grave
abuse of discretion on the part of any government agency. It thus gives its magistrates the
luxury of choosing between being passivists or activists when confronted with "political
questions." As I explained during my discourse with Amicus Pacifico Agabin during the Oral
Argument on November 6, 2003, many legal scholars characterize the US Supreme Court under
Chief Justice Earl Warren as activist, and its present Court under Chief Justice William Rehnquist
as generally conservative or passivist.
Further explaining, I said that the Warren Court is widely known for having actively intervened
in political, social and economic matters. It issued decisions favoring the poor and the
underprivileged; and overhauled jurisprudence on the Bill of Rights to protect ethnic minorities,
eliminate racial segregations, and uphold the civil liberties of the people. In contrast, the
Rehnquist Court has taken mostly a hands-off stance on these issues and largely deferred to the
discretion of the political branches of government in most political issues brought before it. 16
On the other hand, our Constitution has not given the same luxury of choice to jurists as that
given in the US. By imposing upon our judges a duty to intervene and to settle issues of grave
abuse of discretion, our Constitution has thereby mandated them to be activists. A duty cannot
be evaded. The Supreme Court must uphold the Constitution at all times. Otherwise, it will be
guilty of dereliction, of abandonment, of its solemn duty. Otherwise, it will repeat the judicial
cop-outs that our 1987 Constitution abhors.
Thus, in Taada v. Angara, 17 the Court clearly and unequivocally ruled that "[w]here an action
of the legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not
only the right but in fact the duty of the judiciary to settle the dispute. The question thus posed
is judicial rather than political. The duty (to adjudicate) remains, to assure that the supremacy
of the Constitution is upheld. Once a controversy as to the application or the interpretation of a
constitutional provision is raised before the Court, it becomes a legal issue which the Court is
bound by constitutional mandate to decide."
The Court's Duty to Intervene in Impeachment Cases That Infringe the Constitution
Third, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., an intervenor, argues that Article XI of the Constitution grants
the House of Representatives the "exclusive" power to initiate all cases of impeachment; and
the Senate, the "sole" prerogative to try and decide them. He thus concludes that the Supreme
Court has no jurisdiction whatsoever to intervene in such proceedings. With due respect, I
disagree for the following reasons:
1. The Constitution imposes on the Supreme Court the duty to rule on unconstitutional
acts of "any" branch or instrumentality of government. Such duty is plenary, extensive and
admits of no exceptions. While the Court is not authorized to pass upon the wisdom of an
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impeachment, it is nonetheless obligated to determine whether any incident of the
impeachment proceedings violates any constitutional prohibition, condition or limitation
imposed on its exercise. Thus, normally, the Court may not inquire into how and why the House
initiates an impeachment complaint. But if in initiating one, it violates a constitutional
prohibition, condition or limitation on the exercise thereof, then the Court as the protector and
interpreter of the Constitution is duty-bound to intervene and "to settle" the issue. This point
was clearly explained by Chief Justice Concepcion in Javellana v. Executive Secretary 18 as
follows:
"Accordingly, when the grant of power is qualified, conditional or subject to limitations, the
issue on whether or not the prescribed qualifications or conditions have been met, or the
limitations respected, it justiciable or non-political, the crux of the problem being one of legality
or validity of the contested act, not its wisdom. Otherwise, said qualifications, conditions or
limitations particularly those prescribed or imposed by the Constitution would be set at
naught. What is more, the judicial inquiry into such issue and the settlement thereof are the
main functions of courts of justice under the Presidential form of government adopted in our
1935 Constitution, and the system of checks and balances, one of its basic predicates. As a
consequence, We have neither the authority nor the discretion to decline passing upon said
issue, but are under the ineluctable obligation made particularly more exacting and
peremptory by our oath, as members of the highest Court of the land, to support and defend
the Constitution to settle it." (Emphasis supplied.)
2. The Constitution likewise grants the electoral tribunals of both Houses of Congress the
authority to be the "sole" judges of all contests relating to the election, the returns and the
qualifications of their respective members. Still, the Supreme Court reviews the decisions of
these tribunals on certiorari. 19 Its certiorari power, so exercised, has never been seriously
questioned.
3. The Constitution has granted many powers and prerogatives exclusively to Congress.
However, when these are exercised in violation of the Constitution or with grave abuse of
discretion, the jurisdiction of the Court has been invoked; and its decisions thereon, respected
by the legislative branch. Thus, in Avelino v. Cuenco, 20 the Court ruled on the issue of who was
the duly elected President of the Senate, a question normally left to the sole discretion of that
chamber; in Santiago v. Guingona, 21 on who was the minority floor leader of the Senate; in
Daza v. Singson 22 and Coseteng v. Mitra Jr., 23 on who were the duly designated members of
the Commission on Appointments representing the House of Representatives. It was held in the
latter two cases that the Court could intervene because the question involved was "the legality,
not the wisdom, of the manner of filling the Commission on Appointment as prescribed by the
Constitution." DEScaT
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In the present cases, the main issue is whether, in initiating the second Impeachment
Complaint, the House of Representatives violated Article XI, Section 3(5), which provides that
"[n]o impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year." The interpretation of this constitutional prohibition or condition as
it applies to the second Impeachment Complaint clearly involves the "legality, not the wisdom"
of the acts of the House of Representatives. Thus, the Court must "settle it."
Observance of Due Process During the Initiation of Impeachment
Fourth, during the Oral Argument, Senator Salonga and Petitioner Francisco Chavez denounced
the second Impeachment Complaint as violative of due process. They argued that by virtue
merely of the endorsement of more than one third of the members of the House of
Representatives, the Chief Justice was immediately impeached without being afforded the twin
requirements of notice and hearing. The proceedings were therefore null and void ab initio. I
must agree.
The due process clause, 24 enshrined in our fundamental law, is a conditio sine qua non that
cannot be ignored in any proceeding administrative, judicial or otherwise. 25 It is deemed
written into every law, rule or contract, even though not expressly stated therein. Hence, the
House rules on impeachment, insofar as they do not provide the charged official with (1) notice
and (2) opportunity to be heard prior to being impeached, are also unconstitutional.
Constitutional Supremacy the Bedrock of the Rule of Law
Fifth, I shall no longer belabor the other legal arguments (especially the meaning of the word
"initiate") on why the second Impeachment Complaint is null and void for being violative of the
one-year bar. Suffice it to say that I concur with Justice Morales. Let me just stress that in taking
jurisdiction over this case and in exercising its power of judicial review, the Court is not
pretending to be superior to Congress or to the President. It is merely upholding the supremacy
of the Constitution and the rule of law. 26
To stress this important point, I now quote from Justice Jose P. Laurel in the landmark case
Angara v. Electoral Commission, 27 which was decided in 1936:
"The Constitution is a definition of the powers of government. Who is to determine the nature,
scope and extent of such powers? The Constitution itself has provided for the instrumentality
of the judiciary as the rational way. And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality
nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation
assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the
Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
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instrument secures and guarantees to them. This is in truth all that is involved in what is termed
'judicial supremacy' which properly is the power of judicial review under the Constitution."
(Italics supplied.)
Epilogue
Having firmed up the foregoing position, I must admit that I was initially tempted to adopt the
view of Amici Jovito R. Salonga and Raul C. Pangalangan. They maintain that although the Court
had jurisdiction over the subject matter and although the second Impeachment Complaint was
unconstitutional, the Court should nonetheless "use its power with care and only as a last
resort" and allow the House to correct its constitutional errors; or, failing in that, give the
Senate the opportunity to invalidate the second Complaint.
This Salonga-Pangalangan thesis, which is being espoused by some of my colleagues in their
Separate Opinions, has some advantages. While it preserves the availability of judicial review as
a "last resort" to prevent or cure constitutional abuse, it observes, at the same time,
interdepartmental courtesy by allowing the seamless exercise of the congressional power of
impeachment. In this sense, it also enriches the doctrine of primary jurisdiction by enabling
Congress to exercise fully its "exclusive" authority to initiate, try and decide impeachment
cases. In short, it gives Congress the primary jurisdiction; and the Court, "appellate" certiorari
power, over the case.
Furthermore, the proponents of this deferential position add that the Senate may eventually
rule that the second Impeachment Complaint is unconstitutional, and that the matter may thus
be settled definitively. Indeed, the parties may be satisfied with the judgment of the Senate
and, thus, obviate the need for this Court to rule on the matter. In this way, the latter would
not need to grapple with the conflict of interest problem I have referred to earlier.
With due respect, I believe that this stance of "passing the buck" even if made under the
guise of deference to a coequal department is not consistent with the activist duty imposed
by the Constitution upon this Court.
In normal times, the Salonga-Pangalangan formula would, perhaps, be ideal. However, the
present situation is not ideal. Far from it. The past several weeks have seen the deep
polarization of our country. Our national leaders from the President, the Senate President
and the Speaker of the House down to the last judicial employee have been preoccupied
with this problem. There have been reported rumblings of military destabilization and civil
unrest, capped by an aborted siege of the control tower of the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport on November 8, 2003.
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Furthermore, any delay in the resolution of the dispute would adversely affect the economy as
well as the socio-political life of the nation. A transmittal of the second Impeachment Complaint
to the Senate would disrupt that chamber's normal legislative work. The focus would shift to an
unsettling impeachment trial that may precipitously divide the nation, as happened during the
impeachment of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
A needless trial in the Senate would not only dislocate that chamber's legislative calendar and
divide the nation's focus; but also unnecessarily bring anxiety, loss of time and irreparable
injury on the part of the Chief Justice, who would not be able to attend to his normal judicial
duties. The transmittal of the second Impeachment Complaint to the Senate would unfairly
brand him as the first Supreme Court justice to be impeached!
Moreover, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Senate President Franklin M. Drilon have
issued public statements 28 that they will abide by the decision of the Court as the ultimate
arbiter and interpreter of the Constitution. Now, therefore, is the ripe time for the Court to
decide, and to decide forthrightly and firmly. Merely deferring its decision to a later time is not
an assurance of better times for our country and people.
To be sure, the matters raised in the second Impeachment Complaint can be expeditiously
taken up by the House of Representatives through an investigation in aid of legislation. The
House can then dispassionately look into alleged irregular expenditures of JDF funds, without
the rigors, difficulties, tensions and disruptive consequences of an impeachment trial in the
Senate. The ultimate aim of discovering how the JDF was used and of crafting legislation to
allocate more benefits to judicial employees may be achieved in a more judicious, peaceful and
cordial manner.
I close this Opinion with the truism that the judiciary is the "weakest" branch of government.
Nonetheless, when ranged against the more powerful branches, it should never cower in
silence. Indeed, if the Supreme Court cannot take courage and wade into "grave abuse"
disputes involving the purse-disbursing legislative department, how much more deferential will
it be when faced with constitutional abuses perpetrated by the even more powerful, sword-
wielding executive department?
I respectfully submit that the very same weakness of the Court becomes its strength when it
dares speak through decisions that rightfully uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and the
rule of law. The strength of the judiciary lies not in its lack of brute power, but in its moral
courage to perform its constitutional duty at all times against all odds. Its might is in its being
right.
WHEREFORE, I vote to declare the second Impeachment Complaint to be unconstitutional and
time-barred by Article XI, Section 3, paragraph 5 of the Constitution.
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YNARES-SANTIAGO, J ., concurring and dissenting:
The power of impeachment is essentially lodged by the Constitution in Congress. It is the
process by which officials of the Government, not removable by other means, may be made to
answer for certain offenses. These offenses are specifically enumerated as: culpable violation of
the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of
public trust. In the exercise of this power, Congress must observe the minimum requirements
set by the Constitution. However, in the event that Congress oversteps these limitations, who
can review its acts? Can the Supreme Court, under its power of judicial review enshrined in the
Constitution, review the acts of a co-equal body? These are the novel issues raised in these
petitions.
The petitions before this Court assail the constitutionality of the impeachment complaint
against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., contending that, being a second complaint, the same
is expressly prohibited under Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the 1987 Constitution, which provides:
No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within
a period of one year.
Respondents House of Representative and the Senate filed separate Manifestations both
stating that they are not submitting to the jurisdiction of the Court. The House of
Representatives invoked its territorial integrity which this Court, as a co-equal body, cannot
encroach upon. For its part, the Senate pointed out that the petition as against it was
premature inasmuch as it has not received any articles of impeachment.
The Court set the petitions for oral arguments and invited the following as amici curiae:
1. Florenz D. Regalado, retired Justice of this Court;
2. Regalado E. Maambong, Justice of the Court of Appeals,
3. Fr. Joaquin C. Bernas, Dean of the Ateneo School of Law;
4. Hugo E. Gutierrez, Jr., retired Justice of this Court;
5. Estelito P. Mendoza, former Minister of Justice and Solicitor General;
6. Pacifico A. Agabin, former Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law;
7. Raul C. Pangalangan, Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law; and
8. Jovito R. Salonga, former Senate President.
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During the oral arguments, the principal issue and sub-issues involved in the several petitions
were defined by the Court as follows:
Whether the certiorari jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may be invoked; who can invoke it; on
what issues and at what time; and whether it should be exercised by this Court at this time.
a) Locus standi of petitioners;
b) Ripeness (prematurity; mootness)
c) Political question/justiciability;
d) House's exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment;
e) Senate's sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment;
f) Constitutionality of the House Rules of Impeachment vis--vis Section 3 (5) of Article XI
of the Constitution; and
g) Judicial restraint.
In the appreciation of legal standing, 1 a developing trend appears to be towards a narrow and
exacting approach, requiring that a logical nexus be shown between the status asserted and the
claim sought to be adjudicated in order to ensure that one is the proper and appropriate party
to invoke judicial power. 2 Nevertheless, it is still within the wide discretion of the Court to
waive the requirement and remove the impediment to its addressing and resolving serious
constitutional questions raised. 3
In the case at bar, petitioners allege that they dutifully pay their taxes for the support of the
government and to finance its operations, including the payment of salaries and other
emoluments of the respondents. They assert their right to be protected against all forms of
needless spending of taxpayers' money including the commission of an unconstitutional act,
i.e., the filing of two impeachment cases within a period of one year against the Chief Justice of
this Court, one of the three independent branches of the government. Considering these
serious legal questions which affect public interest, I concur with the ponente that the
petitioners, except Atty. Dioscoro U. Vallejos, Jr. in G.R. No. 160397, have satisfactorily
established locus standi to file the instant petitions.
I also concur with the ponente that the Court has the power of judicial review. This power of
the Court has been expanded by the Constitution not only to settle actual controversies
involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable but also to determine whether
or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on
the part of any branch or instrumentality of government. 4 The Court is under mandate to
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assume jurisdiction over, and to undertake judicial inquiry into, what may even be deemed to
be political questions provided, however, that grave abuse of discretion the sole test of
justiciability on purely political issues is shown to have attended the contested act. 5
The Court checks the exercise of power of the other branches of government through judicial
review. It is the final arbiter of the disputes involving the proper allocation and exercise of the
different powers under the Constitution. When the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality
of the acts of Congress, it does not thereby assert its superiority over a co-equal branch of
government. It merely asserts its solemn and sacred obligation under the Constitution and
affirms constitutional supremacy. 6
Indeed, in the resolution of the principal issue in these petitions, a distinction has to be drawn
between the power of the members of the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment
proceedings, on the one hand, and the manner in which they have exercised that power. While
it is clear that the House has the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases, and the Senate
has the sole power to try and decide these cases, the Court, upon a proper finding that either
chamber committed grave abuse of discretion or violated any constitutional provision, may
invoke its corrective power of judicial review.
The meaning of the word "initiate" in relation to impeachment is at the center of much debate.
The confusion as to the meaning of this term was aggravated by the amendment of the House
of Representatives' Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings. The first set of Rules
adopted on May 31, 1988, specifically Rule V, Section 14 and Rule II, Section 2 thereof, provides
that impeachment shall be initiated when a verified complaint for impeachment is filed by any
Member of the House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by
any Member thereof, or when a verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at
least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House. This provision was later amended on
November 28, 2001. Rule V, Section 16 of the amendatory Rules states that impeachment
proceedings under any of the three methods above-stated are deemed initiated on the day that
the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against such
official is sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding
of the said Committee that the verified complaint and/or resolution is not sufficient in
substance.
The adoption of the 2001 Rules, at least insofar as initiation of impeachment proceedings is
concerned, unduly expanded the power of the House by restricting the constitutional time-bar
only to complaints that have been "approved" by the House Committee on Justice. As stated
above, the one-year bar is a limitation set by the Constitution which Congress cannot overstep.
Indeed, the Records of the Constitutional Commission clearly show that, as defined in Article XI,
Section 3 (5), impeachment proceedings begin not on the floor of the House but with the filing
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of the complaint by any member of the House of any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement
by any Member thereof. This is the plain sense in which the word "initiate" must be
understood, i.e., to begin or commence the action.
Moreover, the second impeachment complaint was filed by only two complainants, namely
Representatives Gilberto G. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William B. Fuentebella. The rest of the
members of the House whose names appear on the attachments thereto merely signed
endorsements to the Complaint.
Article XI, Section 3 (3) of the Constitution is explicit:
In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all
the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by
the Senate shall forthwith proceed. (Emphasis provided.)
The mere endorsement of the members of the House, albeit embodied in a verified resolution,
did not suffice for it did not constitute filing of the impeachment complaint, as this term is
plainly understood. In order that the verified complaint may be said to have been filed by at
least 1/3 of the Members, all of them must be named as complainants therein. All of them must
sign the main complaint. This was not done in the case of the assailed second impeachment
complaint against the Chief Justice. The complaint was not filed by at least one-third of the
Members of the House, and therefore did not constitute the Article of Impeachment.
I am constrained to disagree with the majority decision to discard the above issue for being
unnecessary for the determination of the instant cases. On the contrary, the foregoing defect in
the complaint is a vital issue in the determination of whether or not the House should transmit
the complaint to the Senate, and if it does, whether the Senate should entertain it. The
Constitution is clear that the complaint for impeachment shall constitute the Articles of
Impeachment, without need of referral to the Committee on Justice, when the complaint is
filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House. Being the exception to the general
procedure outlined in the Constitution, its formal requisites must be strictly construed.
Furthermore, the mere fact that this issue was raised by intervenors Romulo Macalintal and
Pete Quirino-Quadra, and not by the petitioners in G.R. No. 160262, is of no moment. The Court
is empowered to decide issues even though they are not raised in the pleadings. 7 In the case at
bar, the question is already before this Court and may therefore be resolved.
The impeachment complaint suffers from yet another serious flaw. As one of the amici curiae,
former Senate President Jovito Salonga, pointed out, the signing of the impeachment complaint
by the purported 1/3 of the Congressmen was done without due process. The Chief Justice,
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against whom the complaint was brought, was not served notice of the proceedings against
him.
No rule is better established, under the due process clause of the constitution, than that which
requires notice and opportunity to be heard before any person can be lawfully deprived of his
rights. 8 Indeed, when the Constitution says that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law, 9 it means that every person shall be afforded the
essential element of notice in any proceeding. Any act committed in violation of due process
may be declared null and void. 10
However, notwithstanding the constitutional and procedural defects in the impeachment
complaint, I dissent from the majority when it decided to resolve the issues at this premature
stage. I submit that the process of impeachment should first be allowed to run its course. The
power of this Court as the final arbiter of all justiciable questions should come into play only
when the procedure as outlined in the Constitution has been exhausted. The complaint should
be referred back to the House Committee on Justice, where its constitutionality may be
threshed out. Thereafter, if the Committee so decides, the complaint will have to be
deliberated by the House on plenary session, preparatory to its possible transmittal to the
Senate. The questions on the sufficiency of the complaint in form may again be brought to the
Senate by way of proper motion, and the Senate may deny the motion or dismiss the complaint
depending on the merits of the grounds raised. After the Senate shall have acted in due course,
its disposition of the case may be elevated to this Court pursuant to its judicial power of review.
In addition, there are several other remedies that may be availed of or events that may occur
that may render the present petitions moot and, in the process, effectively avert this
controversy. Dean Raul Pangalangan of the University of the Philippines College of Law, one of
the amici curiae, stressed that among the internal measures that the members of Congress
could make to address the situation are: (1) attempts to encourage the signatories of the
impeachment complaint to withdraw their signatures; (2) the raising by the members of
Congress themselves of the Constitutional questions when the Articles of Impeachment are
presented in plenary session on a motion to transmit them to the Senate, as required by
Section 15, paragraph 2 of the House Rules; and (3) assuming the Articles of Impeachment are
transmitted to the Senate, Chief Justice Davide could conceivably raise the same Constitutional
issues by way of a motion to dismiss or motion to quash. 11
Clearly, the unfinished business and loose ends at the House of Representatives and in the
Senate, as well as the simmering forces outside of the halls of government could all preempt
any decision of this Court at the present time. Senate President Salonga said it best when he
commented that the Supreme Court, which has final jurisdiction on questions of
constitutionality, should be the final arbiter; it should be the authoritative court of last resort in
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our system of democratic governance; but all remedies in the House of Representatives and in
the Senate should be exhausted first. He goes on to say that only when this case is ripe for
judicial determination can this Court speak with great moral authority and command the
respect and loyalty of our people. 12
With these considerations in mind, the Court should recognize the extent and practical
limitations of its judicial prerogatives, and identify those areas where it should carefully tread
instead of rush in and act accordingly. Considering that power of impeachment was intended to
be the legislature's lone check on the judiciary, exercising our power of judicial review over
impeachment would place the final reviewing authority with respect to impeachments in the
hands of the same body that the impeachment process is meant to regulate. 13 In fact, judicial
involvement in impeachment proceedings, even if only for purposes of judicial review is
counter-intuitive because it eviscerates the important constitutional check on the judiciary. 14
A becoming sense of propriety and justice dictates that judicial self-restraint should be
exercised; that the impeachment power should remain at all times and under all circumstances
with the legislature, where the Constitution has placed it. The common-law principle of judicial
restraint serves the public interest by allowing the political processes to operate without undue
interference. 15
The doctrine of separation of powers calls for each branch of government to be left alone to
discharge its duties as it sees fit. Being one such branch, the judiciary will neither direct nor
restrain executive or legislative action. 16 The legislative and the executive branches are not
allowed to seek its advice on what to do or not to do; thus, judicial inquiry has to be postponed
in the meantime. Before a court may enter the picture, a prerequisite is that something has
been accomplished or performed by either branch. Then it may pass on the validity of what has
been done but, then again, only when properly challenged in an appropriate legal proceeding.
17 Hence, any resolution that this Court might make in this case may amount to nothing more
than an attempt at abstraction that can only lead to barren legal dialectics and sterile
conclusions, depending on what transpires next at the House of Representatives and the
Senate. 18
IN VIEW WHEREOF, I CONCUR with the majority decision insofar as it held that
(a) Petitioners in all the above-captioned cases, except Atty. Dioscoro U. Vallejos, Jr. in G.R.
No. 160397, have legal standing to institute these petitions; and
(b) The constitutionality of the second impeachment complaint filed by Representatives
Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William B. Fuentebella against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide,
Jr. is a justiciable issue which this Court may take cognizance of.
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However, I vote that this Court must observe judicial self-restraint at this time and DISMISS the
instant petitions.
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J., concurring:
Never before in the 102-year existence of the Supreme Court has there been an issue as
transcendental as the one before us. For the first time, a Chief Justice is subjected to an
impeachment proceeding. The controversy caused people, for and against him, to organize and
join rallies and demonstrations in various parts of the country. Indeed, the nation is divided
which led Justice Jose C. Vitug to declare during the oral arguments in these cases, "God save
our country!"
The common thread that draws together the several petitions before this Court is the issue of
whether the second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr.
contravenes Section 3 (5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, providing that "no impeachment
proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one
year."
The antecedents are simple. On June 2, 2003, deposed President Joseph E. Estrada filed with
the House of Representatives an impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Davide and
seven (7) other Justices of this Court, alleging inter alia that they conspired to deprive him of his
mandate as President. On October 22, 2003, the House Committee on Justice dismissed the
complaint for insufficiency of substance. Pursuant to the Constitution, the House of
Representatives in plenary session has still to approve or disapprove the Committee's action.
The next day, on October 23, 2003, Congressmen Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William B.
Fuentebella filed another impeachment complaint, this time against Chief Justice Davide alone,
charging him with violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and betrayal of public
trust with regard to the disposition of the Judicial Development Fund (JDF). At least one-third
(1/3) of all the members of the House signed a Resolution endorsing this second impeachment
complaint.
Subsequently, the instant petitions were filed with this Court alleging that the filing of the
second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Davide violates Section 3(5), Article XI of
the Constitution which provides:
"No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year."
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives claimed that this Court lacks jurisdiction
over the petitions. Senate President Franklin Drilon manifested that the petitions are
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premature since the Articles of Impeachment have not been transmitted to the Senate.
Moreover, the petitions pose political questions which are non-justiciable.
On November 5 and 6, 2003, this Court heard the petitions on oral argument: Present were the
amici curiae appointed by this Court earlier, namely: Former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga,
former Constitutional Commissioner Joaquin G. Bernas, Justice Hugo E. Gutierrez, Jr., former
member of this Court, former Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza,
Court of Appeals Justice Regalado E. Maambong, former Constitutional Commissioner, Dean
Raul C. Pangalangan, and former Dean Pacifico A. Agabin of the UP College of Law.
Crucial to the determination of the constitutionality of the second impeachment complaint
against Chief Justice Davide are three (3) fundamental issues indicated and discussed below:
I Whether this Court has jurisdiction over the petitions.
One cornerstone of judicial supremacy is the two-century old case of Marbury vs. Madison. 1
There, Chief Justice John Marshall effectively carried the task of justifying the judiciary's power
of judicial review. Cast in eloquent language, he stressed that it is "the province and duty of the
judicial department to say what the law is." In applying the rule to particular cases, the judiciary
"must of necessity expound and interpret that rule." If two laws conflict with each other, "the
courts must decide on the operation of each." It further stressed that "if a law be in opposition
to the Constitution, if both the law and the Constitution apply to a particular case, the court
must decide the case conformably to the Constitution disregarding the law. This is of the very
essence of judicial duty."
In our shore, the 1987 Constitution is explicit in defining the scope of judicial power. Section 1,
Article VIII provides:
"Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts
as may be established by law.
"Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of Government."
The above provision fortifies the authority of the courts to determine in an appropriate action
the validity of the acts of the political departments. Under the new definition of judicial power,
the courts are authorized not only "to settle actual controversies involving rights which are
legally demandable and enforceable," but also "to determine whether or not there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch
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or instrumentality of the government." The latter part of the authority represents a broadening
of judicial power to enable the courts to review what was before a forbidden territory the
discretion of the political departments of the government. 2 It speaks of judicial prerogative not
only in terms of power but also of duty. 3
The petitions at bar present a conflict between Sections 16 and 17 of the Rules of Procedure in
Impeachment Proceedings, promulgated by the present Congress of the Philippines, and
Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution. Is this conflict a justiciable issue?
Justiciability, is different from jurisdiction. Justiciability refers to the suitability of a dispute for a
judicial resolution, while jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to try and decide a case. As
earlier mentioned, the basic issue posed by the instant petitions is whether the second
impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide violates the Constitutional
provision that "no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more
than once within the period of one year." Obviously, this is a justiciable issue. Chief Justice
Davide, under the Constitution, should not be subjected to a second impeachment proceedings.
Thus, on the face of the petitions, he has a right to be protected by the courts.
May this Court assume jurisdiction over this justiciable issue? Justice Isagani A. Cruz aptly wrote
that "A judgment of the Congress in an impeachment proceeding is normally not subject to
judicial review because of the vesture in the Senate of the "sole power to try and decide all
cases of impeachment." . . . But the courts may annul the proceedings if there is a showing of a
grave abuse of discretion committed by the Congress or of non-compliance with the procedural
requirements of the Constitution, as where the charges are instituted without a verified
complaint, or by less than one-third of all the members of the House of Representatives, or
where the judgment of conviction is supported by less than a two-thirds vote in the Senate." 4
He further wrote that the power to impeach is essentially a non-legislative prerogative and can
be exercised by the Congress only within the limits of the authority conferred upon it by the
Constitution. 5
The case of Romulo vs. Yiguez, 6 supports such a view. In this case, this Court initially took
cognizance of the petition filed by Alberto G. Romulo, et al., in view of the latter's claim that the
Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings are unconstitutional, implying that the
Batasan, in the exercise of its powers, transgressed the Constitution. This, according to the
Court is "certainly a justiciable question."
Corollarily, in Santiago vs. Guingona, Jr., 7 this Court assumed jurisdiction over a petition
alleging that the Constitution has not been observed in the selection of the Senate Minority
Leader. This Court held that "jurisdiction over the subject matter of a case is determined by the
allegations of the complaint or petition, regardless of whether the plaintiff or petitioner is
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entitled to the relief asserted. In light of the allegation of petitioners, it is clear that this Court
has jurisdiction over the petition. It is well within the power and jurisdiction of the Court to
inquire whether indeed the Senate or its officials committed a violation of the Constitution or
gravely abused their discretion in the exercise of their functions and prerogatives." In
Montesclaros vs. Commission on Elections, 8 this Court ruled that "absent a clear violation of
specific constitutional limitations or of constitutional rights of private parties, the Court cannot
exercise its power of judicial review over the internal processes or procedures of Congress."
Stated in converso, the Court can exercise its power of judicial review over the internal
processes or procedures of Congress when there exists a clear violation of the Constitution.
Also, in Arroyo vs. De Venecia, 9 this Court, through Justice Vicente V . Mendoza (now retired),
declared that we have no more power to look into the internal proceedings of a House than
Members of that House have to look over our shoulders, as long as no violation of
constitutional provisions is shown.
In fine, while our assumption of jurisdiction over the present petitions may, at first view, be
considered by some as an attempt to intrude into the legislature and to intermeddle with its
prerogatives, however, the correct view is that when this Court mediates to allocate
constitutional boundaries or invalidates the acts of a coordinate body, what it is upholding is
not its own supremacy but the supremacy of the Constitution. 10 If the branches are
interdependent, each must have a place where there is finality, an end to discussion, a
conclusion. If all three branches are faced with the same question, and if they differ, all three
cannot prevail one must be given way to. Otherwise there will be unresolved conflict and
confusion. This may be intolerable in situations where there has to be action. Owing to the
nature of the conflict, the duty necessarily redounds to the judiciary.
II Should this Court exercise self-restraint?
Confronted with an issue involving constitutional infringement, should this Court shackle its
hands under the principle of judicial self-restraint? The polarized opinions of the amici curiae is
that by asserting its power of judicial review, this Court can maintain the supremacy of the
Constitution but at the same time invites a disastrous confrontation with the House of
Representatives. A question repeated almost to satiety is what if the House holds its ground
and refuses to respect the Decision of this Court? It is argued that there will be a Constitutional
crisis. Nonetheless, despite such impending scenario, I believe this Court should do its duty
mandated by the Constitution, seeing to it that it acts within the bounds of its authority.
The 1987 Constitution speaks of judicial prerogative not only in terms of power but also of duty.
11 As the last guardian of the Constitution, the Court's duty is to uphold and defend it at all
times and for all persons. It is a duty this Court cannot abdicate. It is a mandatory and
inescapable obligation made particularly more exacting and peremptory by the oath of each
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member of this Court. 12 Judicial reluctance on the face of a clear constitutional transgression
may bring about the death of the rule of law in this country.
Yes, there is indeed a danger of exposing the Court's inability in giving efficacy to its judgment.
But is it not the way in our present system of government? The Legislature enacts the law, the
Judiciary interprets it and the Executive implements it. It is not for the Court to withhold its
judgment just because it would be a futile exercise of authority. It should do its duty to
interpret the law. Alexander Hamilton, in impressing on the perceived weakness of the
judiciary, observed in Federalist No. 78 that "the judiciary [unlike the executive and the
legislature] has no influence over either the sword or the purse, no direction either of the
strength or of the wealth of society, and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be
said to have neither Force nor Will, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the
aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments." Nonetheless, under the
unusual circumstances associated with the issues raised, this Court should not shirk from its
duty.
One final note on jurisdiction and self-restraint.
There being a clear constitutional infringement, today is an appropriate occasion for judicial
activism. To allow this transcendental issue to pass into legal limbo would be a clear case of
misguided judicial self-restraint. This Court has assiduously taken every opportunity to maintain
the constitutional order, the distribution of public power, and the limitations of that power.
Certainly, this is no time for a display of judicial weakness.
While the power to initiate all cases of impeachment is regarded as a matter of "exclusive"
concern only of the House of Representatives, over which the other departments may not
exercise jurisdiction by virtue of the separation of powers established by the fundamental law,
it does not follow that the House of Representatives may not overstep its own powers defined
and limited by the Constitution. Indeed, it cannot, under the guise of implementing its Rules,
transgress the Constitution, for when it does, its act immediately ceases to be a mere internal
concern.
Surely, by imposing limitations on specific powers of the House of Representatives, a fortiori,
the Constitution has prescribed a diminution of its "exclusive power." I am sure that the
honorable Members of the House who took part in the promulgation and adoption of its
internal rules on impeachment did not intend to disregard or disobey the clear mandate of the
Constitution the law of the people. And I confidently believe that they recognize, as fully as
this Court does, that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, equally binding upon
every branch or department of the government and upon every citizen, high or low.
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It need not be stressed that under our present form of government, the executive, legislative
and judicial departments are coequal and co-important. But it does not follow that this Court,
whose Constitutional primary duty is to interpret the supreme law of the land, has not the
power to declare the House Rules unconstitutional.
Of course, this Court will not attempt to require the House of Representatives to adopt a
particular action, but it is authorized and empowered to pronounce an action null and void if
found to be contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.
This Court will not even measure its opinion with the opinion of the House, as expressed in its
internal rules. But the question of the wisdom, justice and advisability of its particular act must
be tested by the provisions of the Constitution. And if its act is then held illegal by this Court, it
is not because it has any control over Congress, particularly the House of Representatives, but
because the act is forbidden by the fundamental law of the land and the will of the people,
declared in such fundamental law, which is paramount and must be obeyed by every citizen,
even by Congress.
At this point, I must emphasize that the jurisdiction of this Court is over the alleged
unconstitutional Rules of the House, not over the impeachment proceedings.
III Whether the filing of the second impeachment is unconstitutional.
Section 3 (5), Article XI of the 1987 Constitution provides:
"No impeachment proceeding shall be initiated against the same official more than once within
a period of one year."
Petitioners contend that the filing of the second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice
Davide contravenes the above provision because it was initiated within one (1) year from the
filing of the first impeachment complaint against him and seven (7) Associate Justices. Several
of the amici curiae support petitioners' contention. However, the others argue otherwise,
saying that the first impeachment complaint cannot be considered as having been "initiated"
because it failed to obtain the endorsement of at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the
House. This brings us to the vital question, when are impeachment proceedings considered
initiated?
The House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings provide the instances when
impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated, thus:
"BAR AGAINST INITIATION OF IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE SAME OFFICIAL
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"SEC. 16. Impeachment Proceedings Deemed Initiated. In cases where a Member of the
House files a verified complaint of impeachment or a citizen files a verified complaint that is
endorsed by a Member of the House through a resolution of endorsement against an
impeachable officer, impeachment proceedings against such official are deemed initiated on
the day the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against
such official, as the case may be, is sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to
overturn or affirm the finding of the said Committee that the verified complaint and/or
resolution, as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance.
"In cases where a verified complaint or a resolution of impeachment is filed or endorsed, as the
case may be, by at least one-third (1/3) of the Member of the House, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of such verified complaint or
resolution of impeachment with the Secretary General.
"SEC. 17. Bar against Initiation of Impeachment Proceedings. Within a period of one (1)
year from the date impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated as provided in Section 16
hereof, no impeachment proceedings, as such, can be initiated against the same official."
Under the above Rules, when the verified impeachment complaint is filed by a Member of the
House or by a citizen (through a resolution of endorsement by a Member of the House),
impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated either (a) on the day the Committee on Justice
finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution is sufficient in substance; or (b) on the date
the House, through a vote of one-third (1/3), 13 overturns or affirms the finding of the
Committee on Justice that the verified complaint and/or resolution is not sufficient in
substance. However, when the verified impeachment complaint or resolution is filed or
endorsed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of the verified complaint or resolution
with the Secretary General.
The House Rules deviate from the clear language of the Constitution and the intent of its
Framers. The Rules infuse upon the term "initiate" a meaning more than what it actually
connotes.
The ascertainment of the meaning of the provision of the Constitution begins with the language
of the document itself . 14 The words of the Constitution should as much as possible be
understood in the sense they have in common use and given their ordinary meaning. 15 In
other words, the plain, clear and unambiguous language of the Constitution should be
understood in the sense it has in common use. 16 The reason for this is because the
Constitution is not primarily a lawyer's document but essentially that of the people, in whose
consciousness it should ever be present as an important condition for the rule of law to prevail.
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17 Black's Law Dictionary defines "initiate" as "commence," "start," "originate" or "introduce,"
18 while Webster's Dictionary 19 defines it as "to do the first act;" "to perform the first rite;"
"beginning;" or "commence." It came from the Latin word "initium," meaning "a beginning."
Using these definitions, I am convinced that the filing of the verified complaint and its referral
to the Committee on Justice constitute the initial step. It is the first act that starts the
impeachment proceeding. Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J., an amicus curiae, explains convincingly
that the term "proceeding," which is the object of the term "initiated" in Section 3 (5), Article
XI, is a progressive noun that has a beginning, a middle, and an end, thus:
"It [proceeding] consists of several steps.
"First, there is the filing of a verified complaint either by a Member of the House or by a private
citizen endorsed by a Member of the House.
"Second, there is the processing of this complaint by the proper Committee. In this step, the
Committee either rejects the complaint or upholds it.
"Third, whether the resolution of the Committee rejects or upholds the complaint, the
resolution must be forwarded to the House for further processing.
"Fourth, there is the processing of the same complaint by the House of Representatives. The
House either affirms a favorable resolution of the Committee or overrides a contrary resolution
by a vote of one third of all the members.
"Now we ask, at what stage is the 'impeachment proceeding' initiated?
"Not when the complaint is transmitted to the Senate for trial, because that is the end of the
House proceeding and the beginning of another proceeding, namely the trial.
"Not when the House deliberates on the resolution passed on to it by the Committee, because
something prior to that has already been done. The action of the House is already a further step
in the proceeding, not the initiation or beginning.
"Rather, the proceeding is initiated or begins, when a verified complaint is filed and referred to
the Committee on Justice for action. This is the initiating step which triggers the series of steps
that follow."
The Records of the 1986 Constitutional Commission support the foregoing theory. The term
"initiate" pertains to the initial act of filing the verified complaint and not to the finding of the
Committee on Justice that the complaint and/or resolution is sufficient in substance or to the
obtention of the one-third (1/3) vote of all the Members of the House as provided by the House
Rules. Justice Maambong, then a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, explained
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that "initiation starts with the filing of the complaint." As early as the deliberation stage in the
Constitutional Commission, the meaning of the term "initiate" was discussed. Then
Commissioner Maambong sought the deletion of the phrase "to initiate impeachment
proceedings" in Section 3 (3) of Article XI 20 to avoid any misconception that the obtention of
one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House is necessary to "initiate" impeachment
proceedings.
Apparently, Commissioner Maambong was very careful not to give the impression that
"initiation" is equivalent to "impeachment" proper. He stressed that it was the latter which
requires the approval of one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House. According to him, as
the phraseology of Section 3 (3) runs, it seems that the initiation starts only on the floor. This
prompted him to utter: ". . . I will just make of record my thinking that we do not really initiate
the filing of the Articles of Impeachment on the floor. The procedure, as I have pointed out
earlier, was that the initiation starts with the filing of the complaint. And what is actually done
on the floor is that the committee resolution containing the Articles of Impeachment is the one
approved by the body." That Commissioner Maambong gained the concurrence of the Framers
of the 1987 Constitution with regard to the rationale of his proposed amendment is shown by
the fact that nobody objected to his proposal and it is his amended version which now forms
part of the Constitution. We quote the pertinent portions of the deliberation, thus:
"MR. NATIVIDAD. May we have the amendment stated again, so we can understand it. Will the
proponent please state the amendment before we vote?
MR. REGALADO. The amendment is on Section 3 (3) which shall read as follows:
'A VOTE OF AT LEAST ONE-THIRD OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE SHALL BE NECESSARY
TO INITIATE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS, EITHER TO AFFIRM A RESOLUTION OF
IMPEACHMENT BY THE COMMITTEE OR TO OVERRIDE ITS CONTRARY RESOLUTION. THE VOTES
OF EACH MEMBER SHALL BE RECORDED.'
MR. NATIVIDAD. How many votes are needed to initiate?
MR. BENGZON. One-third.
MR. NATIVIDAD. To initiate is different from to impeach; to impeach is different from to
convict. To impeach means to file the case before the Senate.
MR. REGALADO. When we speak of 'initiative,' we refer here to the Articles of Impeachment.
MR. NATIVIDAD. So, that is the impeachment itself, because when we impeach, we are charging
him with the Articles of Impeachment. That is my understanding.
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xxx xxx xxx
MR. BENGZON. Mr. Presiding Officer, may we request that Commissioner Maambong be
recognized.
THE PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Treas). Commissioner Maambong is recognized.
MR. MAAMBONG. Mr. Presiding Officer, I am not moving for a reconsideration of the approval
of the amendment submitted by Commissioner Regalado, but I will just make of record my
thinking that we do not really initiate the filing of the Articles of Impeachment on the floor. The
procedure, as I have pointed out earlier, was that the initiation starts with the filing of the
complaint. And what is actually done on the floor is that the committee resolution containing
the Articles of Impeachment is the one approved by the body.
As the phraseology now runs, which may be corrected by the Committee on Style, it appears
that the initiation starts on the floor. If we only have time, I could cite examples in the case of
the impeachment proceedings of president Richard Nixon wherein the Committee on the
Judiciary submitted the recommendation, the resolution, and the Articles of Impeachment to
the body, and it was the body who approved the resolution. It is not the body which initiates it.
It only approves or disapproves the resolution. So, on that score, probably the Committee on
Style could help rearranging these words because we have to be very technical about this. I
have been bringing with me The Rules of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.
The Senate Rules are with me. The proceedings on the case of Richard Nixon are with me. I
have submitted my proposal, but the Committee has already decided. Nevertheless, I just want
to indicate this on record.
Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer.
xxx xxx xxx
MR. MAAMBONG. I would just like to move for a reconsideration of the approval of Section 3
(3). My reconsideration will not at all affect the substance, but it is only in keeping with the
exact formulation of the Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States regarding
impeachment.
I am proposing, Madam President, without doing damage to any of this provision, that on page
2, Section 3 (3), from lines 17 to 18, we delete the words which read: 'to initiate impeachment
proceedings' and the comma (,) and insert on line 19 after the word 'resolution' the phrase
WITH THE ARTICLES, and then capitalize the letter 'i' in 'impeachment' and replace the word
'by' with OF, so that the whole section will now read: 'A vote of at least one-third of all the
Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a resolution WITH THE ARTICLES of
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Impeachment OF the Committee or to override its contrary resolution. The vote of each
member shall be recorded.'
I already mentioned earlier yesterday that the initiation, as far as the House of Representatives
of the United States is concerned, really starts from the filing of the verified complaint and
every resolution to impeach always carries with it the Articles of Impeachment. As a matter of
fact, the words, 'Articles of Impeachment' are mentioned on line 25 in the case of the direct
filing of a verified complaint of one-third of all the members of the House. I will mention again,
Madame President, that my amendment will not vary the substance in any way. It is only in
keeping with the uniform procedure of the House of Representatives of the United States
Congress.
Thank you, Madam President.
xxx xxx xxx
THE PRESIDENT. Let us first submit to the body the motion of Commissioner Maambong to
reconsider the approval of Section 3 (3).
Is there any objection? (silence) The chair hears none; the motion is approved.
The proposed amendment which has been submitted by Commissioner Maambong was
clarified and has been accepted by the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers.
MR. MAAMBONG. Madam President, May I read again the whole section?
THE PRESIDENT. Please proceed.
MR. MAAMBONG. As amended, the whole Section 3 (3) will read: 'A vote of at least one-third of
all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a resolution WITH THE
ARTICLES OF Impeachment OF the Committee or to override its contrary resolution. The vote of
each member shall be recorded.'
THE PRESIDENT. Is there any objection to this proposed amendment? (Silence) The Chair hear
none, the amendment is approved." 21 (Emphasis supplied)
The clear intent of the Framers of our Constitution should be given weight. The primary task in
constitutional construction is to ascertain and thereafter assure the realization of the purpose
of the Framers and of the people in the adoption of the Constitution. It may be safely assumed
that the people, in ratifying the Constitution, were guided mainly by the explanation offered by
the Framers. 22 In Gold Creek Mining Corp. vs. Rodriguez, 23 the Court, speaking through Mr.
Justice (later, Chief Justice) Jose Abad Santos ruled:
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"The fundamental principle of constitutional construction is to give effect to the intent of the
framers of the organic law and of the people adopting it. The intention to which force is to be
given is that which is embodied and expressed in the constitutional provisions themselves."
The Court thus construes the applicable constitutional provisions, not in accordance with how
the executive or the legislative department may want them construed, but in accordance with
what they say and provide.
It has also been said that a provision of the Constitution should be construed in light of the
objectives it sought to achieve. Section 3 (5), Article XI, also referred as the "anti-harassment
clause," was enshrined in the Constitution for the dual objectives of allowing the legislative
body to concentrate on its function which is lawmaking and protecting public officials from
harassment, thus:
"MR. VILLACORTA. Madam President, I would just like to ask the Committee three questions.
"On Section 3, page 2, lines 12 to 14, the last paragraph reads as follows: 'No impeachment
proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one
year.' Does this mean that even if an evidence is discovered to support another charge or
ground for impeachment, a second or subsequent proceeding cannot be initiated against the
same official within a period of one year? In other words, one year has to elapse before a
second or subsequent charge or proceeding can be initiated. The intention may be to protect
the public official from undue harassment. On the other hand, is this not undue limitation on
the accountability of public officers? Anyway, when a person accepts a public trust, does he not
consider taking the risk of accounting for his acts or misfeasance in office?
"MR. ROMULO. Yes, the intention here really is to limit. This is not only to protect public
officials who, in this case, are of the highest category from harassment but also to allow the
legislative body to do its work which is lawmaking. Impeachment proceedings take a lot of time.
And if we allow multiple impeachment charges on the same individual to take place, the
legislature will do nothing else but that."
For one, if we construe the term "initiate" as referring to the obtention of one-third (1/3) votes
of all the Members of the House or to the date when the Committee on Justice rules that the
complaint is sufficient in substance, are we not losing sight of the fact that much time has
already been wasted by the House? The getting hold of the one-third (1/3) vote is almost the
last step necessary for the accused officer to be considered successfully impeached. The
process is almost complete insofar as the House is concerned. The same is true with respect to
the proceedings in the Committee on Justice. The hearing, voting and reporting of its resolution
to the House definitely take away much of the Members' precious time. Now, if impeachment
complaints are only deemed "initiated" during those phases, then the object of allowing the
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legislature to concentrate on its functions cannot really be achieved. Obviously, impeachment is
a long process. To be sure, instead of acting as a legislative body, the House will be spending
more time as a prosecutorial body.
For another, to let the accused official go through the above phases is to subject him to
additional harassment. As the process progresses, the greater is the harassment caused to the
official. One glaring illustration is the present case. It may be recalled that the first
impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Davide was referred to the Committee on Justice.
On October 22, 2003, the Committee dismissed the complaint for being insufficient in form and
substance. The very next day and while the Committee was yet to make a report to the House,
Congressmen Teodoro and Fuentebella immediately filed the second impeachment complaint
against the Chief Justice. In short, while the first impeachment complaint was not yet fully
disposed of, the Chief Justice was being charged again in another complaint. This is the very
situation proscribed by the Constitution. Verily, it inflicts undue strain and harassment upon
officials who are saddled with other pressing responsibilities.
Another constitutional objection to the second impeachment complaint raised by petitioners is
the fact that only Congressmen Teodoro and Fuentebella signed it. According to them, this
violates Section 3 (4), Article XI of the Constitution which provides:
"(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
(1/3) of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment,
and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed."
Following the above provision, what should have been filed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the
Members of the House is a verified complaint or resolution of impeachment. Even Section 15 of
the House Rules reechoes the above Constitutional mandate, thus:
"SEC. 15. Endorsement of the Complaint/Resolution to the Senate. A verified complaint
or a resolution of impeachment signed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the
House shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment and shall be filed with the Secretary
General. The complaint/resolution must, at the time of filing, be verified and sworn to before
the Secretary General by each of the Members who constitute at least one-third (1/3) of all the
Members of the House. The contents of the verification shall be as follows:
"We, after being sworn in accordance with law, depose and state: That we are the
complainants/signatories in the above-entitled complaint/resolution of impeachment; that we
have caused the said complaint/resolution to be prepared and have read the contents thereof;
and that the allegations therein are true of our own knowledge and belief on the basis of our
reading and appreciation of documents and other records pertinent thereto."
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Clearly, the requirement is that the complaint or resolution must at the time of filing be verified
and sworn to before the Secretary General of the House by each of the members who
constitute at least one-third (1/3) of all the Members of the House.
A reading of the second impeachment complaint shows that of the eighty-one (81)
Congressmen, only two, Teodoro and Fuentebella, actually signed and verified it. What the rest
verified is the Resolution of Endorsement. The verification signed by the majority of the
Congressmen states: "We are the proponents/sponsors of the Resolution of Endorsement of
the abovementioned Complaint of Representatives Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William B.
Fuentebella . . ." 24 However, this defect is not for this Court to correct considering that it is an
incident of the impeachment process solely cognizable by the legislature.
IV Whether petitioners have locus standi to bring the present suits.
It is contended that petitioners have no legal standing to institute the instant petitions because
they do not have personal and substantial interest in these cases. In fact, they have not
sustained or will suffer direct injury as a result of the act of the House of Representatives being
challenged. It is further argued that only Chief Justice Davide has such interest in these cases.
But he has not challenged the second impeachment complaint against him.
It would be an unseemly act for the Chief Justice to file a petition with this Court where he is
primus inter pares. "Delicadeza" and the Rules require him not only to inhibit himself from
participating in the deliberations but also from filing his own petition. Fortunately, there are
persons equally interested in the cause for which he is fighting. I believe that the locus standi
doctrine is not impaired in these petitions.
The petitioners have the legal standing to file the present petitions.
No less than two members of the House of Representatives, namely, Deputy Speaker Raul M.
Gonzales and Congressman Salacnib F. Baterina are among the petitioners in these cases. They
alleged in their petition that the Constitution reserves to their Chamber, whether acting as a
whole or through its members or Committees, the authority to initiate impeachment
proceedings. As members of the House, "they have the legal interest in ensuring that only
impeachment proceedings that are in accord with the Constitution are initiated. Any illegal act
of the House or its members or Committees pertaining to an impeachment will reflect
adversely on them because such act will be deemed an act of the House. Thus they have the
right to question the constitutionality of the second impeachment complaint against the Chief
Justice, an event of transcendental national concern." 25 They further alleged that it would be
futile for them to seek relief in their Chamber prior to the filing of their petition because the
Articles of Impeachment, based on the constitutionally infirm second impeachment complaint,
will be transmitted to the Senate at their next session. Necessarily, the House will disburse
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public funds amounting to millions of pesos for the prosecution, as in the case of the
impeachment of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. Consequently, they stressed they
have the standing to file a petition "to stop the illegal disbursement of public funds for an illegal
act." 26
The rest of the petitioners, most of whom are members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
similarly contend that as citizens and taxpayers they have the legal standing to bring these
suits. They assert that it is their right and duty to see to it that the acts of their public officials
should be in accordance with what the Constitution says and that public funds are not spent for
an unconstitutional act.
Indeed, the present suits involve matters of first impression and of immense importance to the
public considering that, as previously stated, this is the first time a Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court is being subjected to an impeachment proceeding which, according to petitioners, is
prohibited by the Constitution. Obviously, if such proceeding is not prevented and nullified,
public funds amounting to millions of pesos will be disbursed for an illegal act. Undoubtedly,
this is a grave national concern involving paramount public interest. The petitions are properly
instituted to avert such a situation.
In Chavez vs. Public Estates Authority, 27 citing Chavez vs. PCGG, 28 we upheld the right of a
citizen to bring a taxpayer's suit where, as here, the issues raised are of transcendental
importance to the public, thus:
"Besides, petitioner emphasizes, the matter or recovering the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses
is an issue of 'transcendental importance to the public.' He asserts that ordinary taxpayers have
a right to initiate and prosecute actions questioning the validity of acts or orders of government
agencies or instrumentalities, if the issues raised are of 'paramount public interest,' and if they
'immediately affect the social, economic and moral well being of the people.
Moreover, the mere fact that he is a citizen satisfies the requirement of personal interest, when
the proceeding involves the assertion of a public right, such as in this case. He invokes several
decisions of this Court which have set aside the procedural matter of locus standi, when the
subject of the case involved public interest.
xxx xxx xxx
Indeed, the arguments cited by petitioners constitute the controlling decisional rule as regards
his legal standing to institute the instant petition. . . .
In Taada vs. Tuvera, 29 the Court asserted that when the issue concerns a public right and the
object of mandamus is to obtain the enforcement of a public duty, the people are regarded as
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the real parties in interest; and because it is sufficient that petitioner is a citizen and as such is
interested in the execution of the laws, he need not show that he has any legal or special
interest in the result of the action. In the aforesaid case, the petitioners sought to enforce their
right to be informed on matters of public concern, a right then recognized in Section 6, Article
IV of the 1973 Constitution, in connection with the rule that laws in order to be valid and
enforceable must be published in the Official Gazette or otherwise effectively promulgated. In
ruling for the petitioners' legal standing, the Court declared that the right they sought to be
enforced 'is a public right recognized by no less than the fundamental law of the land.'
Legaspi vs. Civil Service Commission, 30 while reiterating Taada, further declared that 'when a
mandamus proceeding involves the assertion of a public right, the requirement of personal
interest is satisfied by the mere fact that petitioner is a citizen and, therefore, part of the
general 'public' which possesses the right.
Further, in Albano vs. Reyes, 31 we said that while expenditure of public funds may not have
been involved under the questioned contract for the development, management and operation
of the Manila International Container Terminal, 'public interest [was] definitely involved
considering the important role [of the subject contract] . . . in the economic development of the
country and the magnitude of the financial consideration involved.' We concluded that, as a
consequence, the disclosure provision in the Constitution would constitute sufficient authority
for upholding the petitioner's standing."
This Court has adopted a liberal stance on the locus standi of a petitioner where he is able to
craft an issue of transcendental significance to the people. In Tatad vs. Secretary of the
Department of Energy, 32 Justice Reynato S. Puno aptly emphasized:
". . . Respondents further aver that petitioners have no locus standi as they did not sustain nor
will they sustain direct injury as a result of the implementation of R.A. No. 8180.
xxx xxx xxx
The effort of respondents to question the locus standi of petitioners must also fall on barren
ground. In language too lucid to be misunderstood, this Court has brightlined its liberal stance
on a petitioner's locus standi where the petitioner is able to craft an issue of transcendental
significance to the people. In Kapatiran ng mga Naglilingkod sa Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas, Inc. vs.
Tan (163 SCRA 371 [1988]), we stressed:
'xxx xxx xxx
Objections to taxpayers' suit for lack of sufficient personality, standing or interest are, however,
in the main procedural matters. Considering the importance to the public of the cases at bar,
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and in keeping with the Court's duty, under the 1987 Constitution, to determine whether or not
the other branches of government have kept themselves within the limits of the Constitution
and the laws and that they have not abused the discretion given to them, the Court has
brushed aside technicalities of procedure and has taken cognizance of these petitions.'"
WHEREFORE, I vote to GRANT the petitions and to declare Sections 16 and 17 of the House
Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
CORONA, J.:
On July 4, 1946, the flag of the United States fluttered for the last time in our skies. That day
ushered in a new period for the Philippine judiciary because, for the first time since 1521,
judicial decisions in our country became entirely our own, free finally of the heavy influence of
a colonial master and relieved of the "preferable" use of precedents set by US courts.
Nevertheless, the vestiges of 50 years of American rule were not about to disappear so soon,
nor so easily. The 1935 Constitution then in force carried many provisions lifted from the US
Constitution. Today we face the prospects of a constitutional crisis at whose vortex lies the
interpretation of certain provisions of that American-influenced Constitution. IHSTDE
A defining moment in history is upon us. The Court has to speak in response to that moment
and in defense of the Constitution.
I humbly contribute this separate opinion as a chronicle of my thoughts during our
deliberations on the petitions before us. Let it be a living testament, in the immortal words of
the great Jesuit historian Horacio de la Costa, that in this particular quest for truth and justice,
we in this Court "not only played in tune but managed here and there a brief but brilliant
phrase."
The Extraordinary Remedy of Impeachment
is Intended to be Only a Final Option
Incorporated in the 1987 Constitution are devices meant to prevent abuse by the three
branches of government. One is the House of Representatives' exclusive power of
impeachment for the removal of impeachable officers 1 from their positions for violating the
mandate that public office is a public trust.
Impeachment under the Philippine Constitution, as a remedy for serious political offenses
against the people, runs parallel to that of the U.S. Constitution whose framers regarded it as a
political weapon against executive tyranny. It was meant "to fend against the incapacity,
negligence or perfidy of the Chief Magistrate." 2 Even if an impeachable official enjoys
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immunity, he can still be removed in extreme cases to protect the public. 3 Because of its
peculiar structure and purpose, impeachment proceedings are neither civil nor criminal:
James Wilson described impeachment as "confined to political characters, to political crimes
and misdemeanors, and to political punishment." According to Justice Joseph Story, in his
Commentaries on the Constitution, in 1833, impeachment applied to offenses of a political
character:
Not but (sic) that crimes of a strictly legal character fall within the scope of the power; but that
it has a more enlarged operation, and reaches what are aptly termed political offenses, growing
out of personal misconduct or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public
interests, various in their character, and so indefinable in their actual involutions, that it is
almost impossible to provide systematically for them by positive law. They must be examined
upon very broad and comprehensive principles of public policy and duty. They must be judged
by the habits and rules and principles of diplomacy, or departmental operations and
arrangements, of parliamentary practice, of executive customs and negotiations, of foreign as
well as domestic political movements; and in short, by a great variety of circumstances, as well
as those which aggravate as those which extenuate or justify the offensive acts which do not
properly belong to the judicial character in the ordinary administration of justice, and are far
removed from the reach of municipal jurisprudence. cEITCA
The design of impeachment is to remove the impeachable officer from office, not to punish
him. An impeachable act need not be criminal. That explains why the Constitution states that
the officer removed shall nevertheless be subject to prosecution in an ordinary criminal case. 4
Impeachment has been described as sui generis and an "exceptional method of removing
exceptional public officials (that must be) exercised by the Congress with exceptional caution."
5 Thus, it is directed only at an exclusive list of officials, providing for complex procedures,
exclusive grounds and very stringent limitations. The implied constitutional caveat on
impeachment is that Congress should use that awesome power only for protecting the welfare
of the state and the people, and not merely the personal interests of a few.
There exists no doubt in my mind that the framers of the Constitution intended impeachment
to be an instrument of last resort, a draconian measure to be exercised only when there are no
other alternatives available. It was never meant to be a bargaining chip, much less a weapon for
political leverage. Unsubstantiated allegations, mere suspicions of wrongdoing and other less
than serious grounds, needless to state, preclude its invocation or exercise. According to
constitutionalist Joaquin Bernas, S.J.:
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for 'graft and corruption' and 'betrayal of public trust' to be grounds for impeachment, their
concrete manner of commission must be of the same severity as 'treason' and 'bribery,'
offenses that strike at the very heart of the life of the nation. 6
A great deal of prudence should therefore be exercised not only to initiate but also to proceed
with impeachment. Otherwise, the time intended for legislative work (the reason why the
Senators and the Congressmen have been elected to the legislature in the first place) is shifted
to the impeachment effort. Furthermore, since the impeachable officer accused is among the
highest officials of the land, it is not only his reputation which is at stake but also the efficient
performance of his governmental functions. There is no denying that the economy suffered a
serious blow during the impeachment trial of former Joseph Estrada in 2001. Impeachment
must therefore be gravely reflected upon on account of its potentially destructive impact and
repercussions on the life of the nation. cASTED
Jurisdiction and Justiciability vs.
The Political Question Doctrine
The Court is vested power by the Constitution to rule on the constitutionality or legality of an
act, even of a co-equal branch.
Article VIII, Section 4(2) of the Constitution states:
(2) All cases involving the constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive
agreement, or law, which shall be heard by the Supreme Court en banc, and all other cases
which under the Rules of Court are required to be heard en banc, including those involving the
constitutionality, application, or operation of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders,
instructions, ordinances, and other regulations, shall be decided with the concurrence of a
majority of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case
and voted thereon.
The Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all laws, rules and regulations must
conform and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer. Any act
conflicting with the Constitution must be stricken down as all must bow to the mandate of this
law. Expediency is not allowed to sap its strength nor greed for power permitted to debase its
rectitude. Right or wrong, the Constitution must be upheld as long as it has not been changed
by the sovereign people lest its disregard result in the usurpation of the majesty of law by the
pretenders to illegitimate power. 7
While it is the judiciary which sees to it that the constitutional distribution of powers among the
three departments of the government is respected and observed, by no means does this mean
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that it is superior to the other departments. The correct view is that, when the Court mediates
to allocate constitutional boundaries or invalidates the acts of a coordinate body, what it is
upholding is not its own supremacy but the supremacy of the Constitution. 8
The concept of the Constitution as the fundamental law, setting forth the criterion for the
validity of any public act, whether of the highest official or the lowest functionary, is a
cornerstone of our democratic system. This is the rule of law. The three departments of
government, each discharging the specific functions with which it has been entrusted, have no
choice but to comply completely with it. Whatever limitations are imposed must be observed to
the letter. Congress, whether the enactment of statutes or its internal rules of procedure, is not
exempt from the restrictions on its authority. And the Court should be ready not to
overpower or subdue but simply to remind the legislative or even the executive branch
about what it can or cannot do under the Constitution. The power of judicial review is a logical
corollary of the supremacy of the Constitution. It overrides any government measure that fails
to live up to its mandate. Thereby there is a recognition of its being the supreme law. 9
Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution provides:
The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law. DcSTaC
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the government.
Both the 1935 and the 1973 Constitutions did not have a similar provision with this unique
character and magnitude of application. This expanded provision was introduced by Chief
Justice Roberto C. Concepcion in the 1986 Constitutional Commission to preclude the Court
from using the political question doctrine as a means to avoid having to make decisions simply
because they may be too controversial, displeasing to the President or Congress, or inordinately
unpopular. The framers of the 1987 Constitution believed that the unrestricted use of the
political question doctrine allowed the Court during the Marcos years to conveniently steer
clear of issues involving conflicts of governmental power or even cases where it could have
been forced to examine and strike down the exercise of authoritarian control.
Accordingly, with the needed amendment, the Court is now enjoined by its mandate from
refusing to invalidate an unauthorized assumption of power by invoking the political question
doctrine. Judicial inquiry today covers matters which the Court, under previous Constitutions,
would have normally left to the political departments to decide. In the case of Bondoc vs.
Pineda, 10 the Court stressed:
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But where the political departments exceed the parameters of their authority, then the
Judiciary cannot simply bury its head ostrich-like in the sands of political question doctrine.
In fact, even political questions do not prohibit the exercise of the power of judicial review for
we have already ruled that our responsibility to interpret the Constitution takes primacy over
the political question doctrine. In this connection, we held in Coseteng vs. Mitra 11 that:
Even if the question were political in nature, it would still come within our powers of review
under the expanded jurisdiction conferred upon us by Article VIII, Section 1, of the Constitution,
which includes the authority to determine whether grave abuse of discretion amounting to
excess or lack of jurisdiction has been committed by any branch or instrumentality of the
government. ISAaTH
The Court is never concerned with policy matters which, without doubt, are within the
exclusive province of the political arms of government. The Court settles no policy issues and
declares only what the law is and not what the law ought to be. Under our system of
government, policy belongs to the domain of the political branches of government and of the
people themselves as the repository of all state power. 12
In the landmark case of Marbury vs. Madison, 13 penned by Chief Justice John Marshall, the
U.S. Supreme Court explained the concept of judicial power and justiciable issues:
So if a law be in opposition to the Constitution; if both the law and the Constitution apply to a
particular case, so that the Court must either decide the case conformably to the law,
disregarding the Constitution; or conformably to the Constitution, disregarding the law; the
court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is of the very
essence of judicial duty.
And on the importance of our duty to interpret the Constitution, Marbury was emphatic:
Those, then, who controvert the principle that the constitution is to be considered, in court, as
a paramount law, are reduced to the necessity of maintaining that the court must close their
eyes on the constitution, and see only the law. This doctrine would subvert the very foundation
of all written constitutions. It would declare that an act which, according to the principles and
theory of our government, is entirely void, is yet, in practice, completely obligatory. It would
declare that if the legislature shall do what is expressly forbidden, such act, notwithstanding the
express prohibition, is in reality effectual. It would be giving to the legislature a practical and
real omnipotence, with the same breath which professes to restrict their powers within narrow
limits. It is prescribing limits and declaring that those limits may be passed at pleasure. 14
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The Court has the obligation to decide on the issues before us to preserve the hierarchy of laws
and to maintain the supremacy of the rule of the Constitution over the rule of men. DHcSIT
In Calderon vs. Carale, 15 we held:
If the Legislature may declare what a law means, or what a specific portion of the Constitution
means, especially after the courts have in actual case ascertained its meaning by interpretation
and applied it in a decision, this would surely cause confusion and instability in judicial
processes and court decisions. Under such a system, a final court determination of a case based
on a judicial interpretation of the law or of the Constitution may be undermined or even
annulled by a subsequent and different interpretation of the law or of the Constitution by the
Legislative department. That would be neither wise nor desirable, besides being clearly violative
of the fundamental principles of our constitutional system of government, particularly those
governing the separation of powers.
Under the new definition of judicial power embodied in Article VIII, Section 1, courts of justice
have not only the authority but also the duty to "settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable" and "to determine whether or not there has
been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the government."
The Court can therefore, in certain situations provided in the Constitution itself, inquire into the
acts of Congress and the President, though with great hesitation and prudence owing to mutual
respect and comity. Among these situations, in so far as the pending petitions are concerned,
are (1) issues involving constitutionality and (2) grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of
or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch of the government. These are the strongest
reasons for the Court to exercise its jurisdiction over the pending cases before us.
Judicial Restraint or
Dereliction of Duty?
A side issue that has arisen with respect to this duty to resolve constitutional issues is the
propriety of assuming jurisdiction because "one of our own is involved." Some quarters have
opined that this Court ought to exercise judicial restraint for a host of reasons, delicadeza
included. According to them, since the Court's own Chief Justice is involved, the Associate
Justices should inhibit themselves to avoid any questions regarding their impartiality and
neutrality. DIEAHc
I disagree. The Court should not evade its duty to decide the pending petitions because of its
sworn responsibility as the guardian of the Constitution. To refuse cognizance of the present
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petitions merely because they indirectly concern the Chief Justice of this Court is to skirt the
duty of dispensing fair and impartial justice. Furthermore, refusing to assume jurisdiction under
these circumstances will run afoul of the great traditions of our democratic way of life and the
very reason why this Court exists in the first place.
This is actually not the first time the Court will decide an issue involving itself. In the 1993 case
of Philippine Judges Association vs. Prado, 16 we decided the constitutionality of Section 35 of
RA 7354 which withdrew the franking privilege of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the
Regional Trial Courts, the Metropolitan Trial Courts, the Municipal Trial Courts and the Land
Registration Commission and its Registers of Deeds, along with certain other government
offices. The Court ruled on the issue and found that the withdrawal was unconstitutional
because it violated the equal protection clause. The Court said:
The Supreme Court is itself affected by these measures and is thus an interested party that
should ordinarily not also be a judge at the same time. Under our system of government,
however, it cannot inhibit itself and must rule upon the challenge, because no other office has
the authority to do so. We shall therefore act upon this matter not with officiousness but in the
discharge of an unavoidable duty and, as always, with detachment and fairness.
xxx xxx xxx
We arrive at these conclusions with a full awareness of the criticism it is certain to provoke.
While ruling against the discrimination in this case, we may ourselves be accused of similar
discrimination through the exercise of our ultimate power in our own favor. This is inevitable.
Criticism of judicial conduct, however undeserved, is a fact of life in the political system that we
are prepared to accept. As judges, we cannot even debate with our detractors. We can only
decide the cases before us as the law imposes on us the duty to be fair and our own conscience
gives us the light to be right (emphasis ours).
This Court has also ruled on the constitutionality of taxing the income of the Supreme Court
Justices. 17 The Court recognized that it was faced by a "vexing challenge" since the issue
affected all the members of the Court, including those who were sitting there at that time. Yet
it still decided the issue, reasoning that "adjudication may not be declined because (a) [we] are
not legally disqualified; (b) jurisdiction may not be renounced." Also, this Court had the
occasion to rule on the constitutionality of the presidential veto involving certain provisions of
the General Appropriations Act of 1992 on the payment of adjusted pension of retired Supreme
Court justices. 18
Thus, vexing or not, as long as the issues involved are constitutional, the Court must resolve
them for it to remain faithful to its role as the staunch champion and vanguard of the
Constitution. At the center stage in the present petitions is the constitutionality of Rule V,
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Sections 16 and 17 of the Rules on Impeachment Proceedings of the House of Representatives
and, by implication, the second impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide
Jr. We have the legal and moral obligation to resolve these constitutional issues, regardless of
who is involved. As pointed out by the eminent constitutionalist, Joaquin Bernas, S.J.,
jurisdiction is not mere power; it is a duty which, though vexatious, may not be renounced.
DEICHc
Constitutionality of Rule V Sections 16
and 17, and the Second Impeachment
Complaint/the Time-Bar Issue
Rule V, Section 16 of the Rules on Impeachment Proceedings of the House of Representatives
reads:
In cases where a Member of the House files a verified complaint of impeachment or a citizen
files a verified complaint that is endorsed against an impeachable officer, impeachment
proceedings against such official are deemed initiated on the day the Committee on Justice
finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against such official, as the case may be, is
sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding of the
said Committee that the verified complaint and/or resolution, as the case may be, is not
sufficient in substance.
In cases where a verified complaint or a resolution of impeachment is filed or endorsed, as the
case may be, by at least one-third (1/3) of the Members of the House, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of such verified complaint or
resolution of impeachment with the Secretary General.
Section 17 of the same impeachment rules provides:
Within a period of one (1) year from the date impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated
as provided in Section 16 hereof, no impeachment proceedings, as such, can be initiated
against the same official.
On the other hand, Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution states:
No impeachment proceedings should be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year. AHCETa
Simply stated, according to the rules of the House of Representatives, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated if there is a finding by the House Committee on Justice that
the verified complaint is sufficient in substance; or once the House itself affirms or overturns
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the finding of the Committee on Justice; or by the filing or endorsement before the Secretary
General of the House of Representatives of a verified complaint or a resolution of impeachment
by at least one-third of the Members of the House.
The aforesaid rules of impeachment of the House of Representatives proceed from its rule-
making power on impeachment granted by the Constitution:
The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of
this section. 19
The foregoing provision was provided for in the Constitution in the light of the exclusive power
of the House of Representatives to initiate all cases of impeachment pursuant to Article XI,
Section 3(1) of the said Constitution. But this exclusive power pertaining to the House of
Representatives is subject to the limitations that no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated
against the same official more than once within a period of one year under Section 3(5) of the
same Article XI.
In the light of these provisions, were there two impeachment complaints 20 lodged against the
Chief Justice within a period of one year? Considering the House of Representatives' own
interpretation of Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution and the diametrically opposite stand
of petitioners thereon, it becomes imperative for us to interpret these constitutional provisions,
even to the extent of declaring the legislative act as invalid if it contravenes the fundamental
law.
Article XI, Section 3(5) is explicit that no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the
same official more than once within a period of one year. The question is: when are
impeachment proceedings deemed initiated? TEacSA
In Gold Greek Mining Corporation vs. Rodriguez 21, the Court ruled that the intent of the
framers of the organic law and the people adopting it is a basic premise. Intent is the vital part,
the heart, the soul and essence of the law and the guiding star in the interpretation thereof. 22
What it says, according to the text of the provision to be construed, compels acceptance and
negates the power of the Court to alter it, based on the postulate that the framers and the
people mean what they say. 23
The initial proposal in the 1986 Constitutional Commission read:
A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to initiate
impeachment proceedings, or to affirm a resolution of impeachment proceedings, or to affirm a
resolution of impeachment by the committee or override its contrary resolution. The vote of
each Member shall be recorded.
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However, Commissioner Regalado Maambong 24 proposed the amendment which is now the
existing provision:
A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm
a resolution of the articles of impeachment of the committee or to override its contrary
resolution. The vote of each member shall be recorded.
Notably, Commissioner Maambong's proposal eliminated the clause "[a vote of at least one-
third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either] to initiate impeachment
proceedings." His point was that, pursuant to the rules and practice of the House of
Representatives of the United States, impeachment is not "initiated" by the vote of the House
but by the filing of the complaint. Commissioner Maambong's amendment and explanation
were approved by the Constitutional Commission without objection. No clearer authority exists
on the meaning and intention of the framers of the Constitution. EScAHT
The issuance of an interpretative rule, embodied in Rule V, Section 16 of the Rules on
Impeachment Proceedings of the House of Representatives, vis--vis a self-executing provision
of the Constitution, has therefore no basis, at least with respect to the term "initiate." A careful
reading of Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution shows absolutely no necessity for an
interpretative rule. The wording of the constitutional provision is so unequivocal and crystal-
clear that it only calls for application and not interpretation.
I acknowledge that Article XI, Section 3(8) of the Constitution provides that the Congress shall
promulgate its rules on impeachment. This is correct provided such rules do not violate the
Constitution.
Judicial Review of Congress'
Power to Make its Rules
Article XI, Section 3(1) of the Constitution provides:
The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of
impeachment.
It is argued that because the Constitution uses the word "exclusive," such power of Congress is
beyond the scope of judicial inquiry. Impeachment proceedings are supposedly matters
particularly and undividedly assigned to a co-equal and coordinate branch of government.
It must be recalled, however, that the President of the Republic of the Philippines under Article
VII, Section 18 of the Constitution has the sole and exclusive power to declare martial law. Yet
such power is still subject to judicial review:
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The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and
whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress
lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety
requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight
hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The
Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special
session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside
by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner,
extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the
invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it. IEAacS
The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the
sufficiency of the factual bases of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the
privilege of the writ or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision hereon within
thirty days from its filing.
Furthermore, in Bondoc vs. Pineda, we assumed jurisdiction despite the fact that the electoral
tribunal concerned was the "sole" judge of contests relating to elections, returns and
qualifications of its members:
Since "a constitutional grant of authority is not usually unrestricted, limitations being provided
for as to what may be done and how it is to be accomplished, necessarily then, it becomes the
responsibility of the courts to ascertain whether the two coordinate branches have adhered to
the mandate of the fundamental law. The question thus posed is judicial rather than political.
The duty remains to assure that the supremacy of the Constitution is upheld." That duty is a
part of the judicial power vested in the courts by an express grant under Section 1, Article VIII
of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines which defines judicial power as both authority and
duty of the courts "to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable
and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentalities of the
Government.
The power and duty of the courts to nullify, in appropriate cases, the actions of the executive
and legislative branches of the Government does not mean that the courts are superior to the
President and the Legislature. It does mean though that the judiciary may not shirk "the
irksome task" of inquiring into the constitutionality and legality of legislative or executive action
when a justiciable controversy is brought before the courts by someone who has been
aggrieved or prejudiced by such person, as in this case. It is "a plain exercise of the judicial
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power, that power vested in courts to enable them to administer justice according to the law . .
. It is simply a necessary concomitant of the power to hear and dispose of a case or controversy
properly before the court, to the determination of which must be brought the test and measure
of the law. 25
Thus, in the words of author Bernas, the words "exclusive" or "sole" in the Constitution should
not be interpreted as "driving away the Supreme Court," that is, prohibiting it from exercising
its power of judicial review when necessary. cDECIA
The House of Representatives may thus have the "exclusive" power to initiate impeachment
cases but it has no exclusive power to expand the scope and meaning of the law in
contravention of the Constitution.
While this Court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the House of Representatives, it may
look into the question of whether such exercise has been made with grave abuse of discretion.
A showing that plenary power is granted either department of government may not be an
obstacle to judicial inquiry for the improvident exercise or abuse thereof may give rise to a
justiciable controversy. 26
The judiciary is deemed by most legal scholars as the weakest of the three departments of
government. It is its power of judicial review that restores the equilibrium. In other words,
while the executive and the legislative departments may have been wittingly or unwittingly
made more powerful than the judiciary, the latter has, however, been given the power to check
or rein in the unauthorized exercise of power by the other two.
Congress' Impeachment Power and
Power of the Purse vis--vis the
Powers of the Commission on Audit (COA)
and the Judiciary's Fiscal Autonomy
One of the issues against the Chief Justice in the second impeachment complaint is the wisdom
and legality of the allocation and utilization of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF). We take
judicial notice of the deluge of public discussions on this matter.
The second impeachment complaint charges the Chief Justice with alleged unlawful
underpayment of the cost of living allowances of members and personnel of the judiciary and
the unlawful disbursement of the JDF for certain infrastructure projects and acquisition of
motor vehicles. DCSTAH
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The JDF was established by PD 1949 in 1984. As stated in its preliminary clause, it was enacted
to maintain the independence of the judiciary, review and upgrade the economic conditions of
the members and personnel thereof, preserve and enhance its independence at all times and
safeguard the integrity of its members, and authorize it, in the discharge of its functions and
duties, to generate its own funds and resources to help augment its budgetary requirements
and ensure the uplift of its members and personnel.
It is of public record that, while the judiciary is one of the three co-equal branches of
government, it has consistently received less than 1% of the total annual appropriation of the
entire bureaucracy.
As authorized by PD 1949, the judiciary augments its budgetary requirements through the JDF,
which is in turn derived from, among others, the marginal increases in legal fees since 1984.
Section 1 of PD 1949 imposes the following percentage limits on the use of the JDF:
"That at least eighty percent (80%) of the Fund shall be used for cost of living allowances, and
not more than twenty percent (20%) of the said Fund shall be used for office equipment and
facilities of the Courts located where the legal fees are collected; Provided, further, That said
allowances of the members and personnel of the Judiciary shall be distributed in proportion of
their basic salaries; and, Provided, finally, That bigger allowances may be granted to those
receiving a basic salary of less than P1,000.00 a month.
Section 2 thereof grants to the Chief Justice the sole and exclusive power to authorize
disbursements and expenditures of the JDF:
SECTION 2. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall administer and allocate the Fund
and shall have the sole exclusive power and duty to approve and authorize disbursements and
expenditures of the Fund in accordance with the guidelines set in this Decree and its
implementing rules and regulations. (Emphasis supplied). DISaEA
Section 3 of the same law empowers the Commission on Audit (COA) to make a quarterly audit
of the JDF:
SECTION 3. The amounts accruing to the Fund shall be deposited by the Chief Justice or his
duly authorized representative in an authorized government depository bank or private bank
owned or controlled by the Government, and the income or interest earned shall likewise form
part of the Fund. The Commission on Audit through the Auditor of the Supreme Court or his
duly authorized representative shall quarterly audit the receipts, revenues, uses, disbursements
and expenditures of the Fund, and shall submit the appropriate report in writing to the
Chairman of the Commission on Audit and to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, copy
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furnished the Presiding Appellate Justice of the Intermediate Appellate Court and all Executive
Judges. (Emphasis supplied).
It is clear from PD 1949 that it is the COA, not Congress, that has the power to audit the
disbursements of the JDF and determine if the same comply with the 80-20 ratio set by the law.
In the course of the House Committee on Justice's investigation on the first impeachment
complaint, the COA submitted to the said body a copy of its audit report, together with
pertinent supporting documents, that the JDF was used and allocated strictly in accordance
with PD 1949.
Because some congressmen disagreed with the COA report clearing the Chief Justice of any
illegality or irregularity in the use and disbursement of the JDF, a second impeachment
complaint was filed charging him with alleged "misuse of the JDF." At this point, the question
foremost in my mind is: what would be the basis of such charges if the COA itself already
cleared the Chief Justice?
Aside from its statutory power under PD 1949 to audit the JDF, the COA alone has the
constitutional power to audit and investigate all financial accounts of the government, including
the JDF. aTHASC
Article IX (D), Section 2 (1) and (2) of the Constitution empowers and obligates the COA as
follows:
Sec. 2. (1) The Commission on Audit shall have the power, authority, and duty to examine,
audit, and settle all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or
uses of funds and property, owned or held in trust by, or pertaining to, the Government, or any
of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled
corporations with original charters, and on a post-audit basis: (a) constitutional bodies,
commissions and offices that have been granted fiscal autonomy under this Constitution; (b)
autonomous state colleges and universities; (c) other government-owned or controlled
corporations and their subsidiaries; and (d) such non-governmental entities receiving subsidy or
equity, directly or indirectly, from or through the Government, which are required by law or the
granting institution to submit such audit as a condition of subsidy or equity. However, where
the internal control system of the audited agencies is inadequate, the Commission may adopt
such measures, including temporary or special pre-audit, as are necessary and appropriate to
correct the deficiencies. Preserve the vouchers and other supporting papers pertaining thereto.
(2) The Commission shall have exclusive authority, subject to the limitations in this Article
to define the scope of its audit examination, establish the techniques and methods required
therefore, and promulgate accounting and auditing rules and regulations, including those for
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the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or
unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties.
Under the foregoing provisions, the COA alone has broad powers to examine and audit all
forms of government revenues, examine and audit all forms of government expenditures, settle
government accounts, define the scope and techniques for its own auditing procedures,
promulgate accounting and auditing rules "including those for the prevention and disallowance
of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable expenditures," decide
administrative cases involving expenditure of public funds, and to conduct post-audit authority
over "constitutional bodies, commissions and offices that have been granted fiscal autonomy
under this Constitution." The provision on post-audit recognizes that there are certain
government institutions whose operations might be hampered by pre-audit requirements.
IHEaAc
Admittedly, Congress is vested with the tremendous power of the purse, traditionally
recognized in the constitutional provision that "no money shall be paid out of the Treasury
except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law." 27 It comprehends both the power to
generate money by taxation (the power to tax) and the power to spend it (the power to
appropriate). The power to appropriate carries with it the power to specify the amount that
may be spent and the purpose for which it may be spent. 28
Congress' power of the purse, however, can neither traverse on nor diminish the constitutional
power of the COA to audit government revenues and expenditures.
Notably, even the expenditures of Congress itself are subject to review by the COA under
Article VI, Section 20 of the Constitution:
Sec. 20. The records and books of accounts of the Congress shall be preserved and be
open to the public in accordance with law, and such books shall be audited by the Commission
on Audit which shall publish annually an itemized list of amounts paid to and expense incurred
for each member. (Emphasis supplied).
The COA's exclusive and comprehensive audit power cannot be impaired even by legislation
because of the constitutional provision that no law shall be passed exempting any entity of the
government or its subsidiary or any investment of public funds from COA jurisdiction. 29
Neither can Congress dictate on the audit procedures to be followed by the COA under Article
IX (D), Section 2 (2).
In sum, after Congress exercises its power to raise revenues and appropriate funds, the power
to determine whether the money has been spent for the purpose for which it is allocated now
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belongs to the COA. Stated otherwise, it is only through the COA that the people can verify
whether their money has been properly spent or not. 30
As it is a basic postulate that no one is above the law, Congress, despite its tremendous power
of the purse, should respect and uphold the judiciary's fiscal autonomy and the COA's exclusive
power to audit it under the Constitution. DcHSEa
Not only is Congress precluded from usurping the COA's power to audit the JDF, Congress is
also bound to respect the wisdom of the judiciary in disbursing it. It is for this precise reason
that, to strengthen the doctrine of separation of powers and judicial independence, Article VIII,
Section 3 of the Constitution accords fiscal autonomy to the judiciary:
Sec. 3. The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the Judiciary may not be
reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year and, after
approval, shall be automatically and regularly released.
In Bengzon vs. Drilon, 31 we explained the constitutional concept of fiscal autonomy:
As envisioned in the Constitution, the fiscal autonomy enjoyed by the Judiciary,. . .
contemplates a guarantee of full flexibility to allocate and utilize [its] resources with the
wisdom and dispatch that [its] needs require. It recognizes the power and authority to levy,
assess and collect fees, fix rates of compensation not exceeding the highest rates authorized by
law for compensation and pay plans of the government and allocate and disburse such sums as
may be provided by law or prescribed by them in the course of the discharge of their function.
Fiscal autonomy means freedom from outside control. If the Supreme Court says it needs 100
typewriters but DBM rules we need only 10 typewriters and sends its recommendation to
Congress without even informing us, the autonomy given by the Constitution becomes an
empty and illusory platitude.
The Judiciary. . . must have the independence and flexibility needed in the discharge of [its]
constitutional duties. The imposition of restrictions and constraints on the manner the
independent constitutional offices allocate and utilize the funds appropriated for their
operations is anathema to fiscal autonomy and violative not only of the express mandate of the
Constitution but especially as regards the Supreme Court, of the independence and separation
of powers upon which the entire fabric of our constitutional system is based. In the interest of
comity and cooperation, the Supreme Court, Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman
have so far limited their objections to constant reminders. We now agree with the petitioners
that this grant of autonomy should cease to be a meaningless provision. ATcEDS
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In the case at bar, the veto of these specific provisions in the General Appropriations Act is
tantamount to dictating to the Judiciary how its funds should be utilized, which is clearly
repugnant to fiscal autonomy. The freedom of the Chief Justice to make adjustments in the
utilization of the funds appropriated for the expenditures of the judiciary, including the use of
any savings from any particular item to cover deficits or shortages in other items of the
judiciary is withheld. Pursuant to the Constitutional mandate, the judiciary must enjoy freedom
in the disposition of the funds allocated to it in the appropriation law.
In essence, fiscal autonomy entails freedom from outside control and limitations, other than
those provided by law. It is the freedom to allocate and utilize funds granted by law, in
accordance with law and pursuant to the wisdom and dispatch its needs may require from time
to time.
Wherefore, I vote to grant the petitions (1) for this Court to exercise its jurisdiction and power
of judicial review immediately; (2) to declare Rule V, Sections 16 and 17 of the Rules on
Impeachment Proceedings of the House of Representatives unconstitutional and (3) to declare
the second impeachment complaint filed pursuant to such rules to be likewise unconstitutional.
CALLEJO, SR., J .:
I concur with modifications with the encompassing ponencia of Justice Conchita Carpio-
Morales. However, I find it imperative to submit this separate opinion to set forth some
postulates on some of the cogent issues.
Briefly, the factual antecedents are as follows:
On June 2, 2003, a verified impeachment complaint was filed with the Office of the Secretary
General of the House of Representatives by former President Joseph E. Estrada against Chief
Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. and seven (7) other associate justices of the Court for violation of
the Constitution, betrayal of public trust and committing high crimes. The complaint was
referred to the Speaker of the House, who had the same included in the Order of Business.
Thereafter, the complaint was referred to the Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
On October 13, 2003, the House Committee on Justice included the first impeachment
complaint in its order of business. The Committee voted that the complaint was sufficient in
form. However, on October 22, 2003, the said House Committee dismissed the first
impeachment complaint for insufficiency of substance. The same Committee has not yet
transmitted its report to the plenary.
The following day, or on October 23, 2003, a verified impeachment complaint was filed with the
Office of the Secretary General of the House by the complainants, Representatives Gilberto C.
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Teodoro, First District, Tarlac, and Felix William D. Fuentebella, Third District, Camarines Sur,
against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., for graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust,
culpable violation of the Constitution and failure to maintain good behavior while in office.
Attached to the second impeachment complaint was a Resolution of
Endorsement/Impeachment signed by at least one-third (1/3) of all the members of the House
of Representatives.
On October 24, 2003, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives
transmitted to the Executive Director, Plenary Affairs Division of the House of Representatives,
the aforesaid Verified Impeachment Complaint and Resolution of Endorsement for its inclusion
in the Order of Business, and for the endorsement of the House to the Senate within three days
from its inclusion pursuant to Section 15, Rule IV of the 2001 Rules of Procedure on
Impeachment Proceedings. The Impeachment Complaint and Resolution of Endorsement were
included in the business of the House of Representatives at 2:00 p.m. of October 28, 2003.
However, the matter of the transmittal of the Complaint of Impeachment was not resolved
because the session was adjourned, to resume at 4:00 p.m. on November 10, 2003.
On October 27, 2003, Ernesto B. Francisco, Jr. filed his petition for certiorari and prohibition for
the nullification of the October 23, 2003 Impeachment Complaint with a plea for injunctive
relief. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines filed a similar petition for the nullification of
Sections 16 and 17 of Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment
Proceedings. The petitioners Congressmen in G.R. No. 160295 also manifested to the Court and
prayed during the hearing on November 6, 2003 that Rule V of the 2001 Rules of Procedure on
Impeachment Proceedings be declared unconstitutional. Similar petitions were also filed with
the Court by other parties against the same Respondents with the Court.
In their Manifestation, Respondents Speaker of the House, et al., urged the Court to dismiss the
petitions on the ground that the Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
petition and the issues raised therein. They assert that the Court cannot prohibit or enjoin the
House of Representatives, an independent and co-equal branch of the government, from
performing its constitutionally mandated duty to initiate impeachment cases. They submit that
the impeachment proceedings in the House is "nonjusticiable," falling within the category of
"political questions," and, therefore, beyond the reach of this Court to rule upon. They counter
that the October 23, 2003 Complaint was the first complaint for Impeachment filed against
Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., the complaint for Impeachment filed by former President
Joseph Ejercito Estrada having been deemed uninitiated. In its Manifestation to the Court, the
respondent Senate of the Philippines asserts that: (a) the petitions are premature because the
Articles of Impeachment have yet to be transmitted to the Senate by the House of
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Representatives; and (b) the issues raised in the petition pertain exclusively to the proceedings
in the House of Representatives.
In his Comment on the petitions, Respondent-Intervenor Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr.
contends that the Court has no jurisdiction to resolve the legality of the October 23, 2003
Complaint/Articles of Impeachment, as the said issue involves a political question, the
resolution of which is beyond the jurisdiction of the Court. It is the Senate, sitting as an
Impeachment Court, that is competent to resolve the issue of whether the Complaint of
Impeachment filed on October 23, 2003 was filed within the one year time-bar. The Senate,
sitting as an impeachment tribunal as sole power to try and decide an impeachment case, is
according to the Senator, beyond the reach of the Court to decide.
The threshold issues raised by the parties may be synthesized, thus: (a) whether the Petitioners
have locus standi; (b) whether the Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
petitions and of the issues; (c) if in the affirmative, whether the petitions are premature; (d)
whether judicial restraint should be exercised by the Court; (e) whether Sections 16 and 17 of
Rule V of the House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Cases are unconstitutional; and (f)
whether the October 23, 2003 Complaint of Impeachment against the Chief Justice is time-
barred.
On the Issue of Locus Standi of the Petitioners
I am in full accord with the ratiocinations of the ponente.
The Court Has Jurisdiction over The Respondents and the Subject Matter of the Petitions
In their Special Appearance and/or Manifestation, Respondents Speaker Jose de Venecia, et al.
assert that the Court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of the petitions and that it has
no jurisdiction to bar, enjoin and prohibit the Respondent House of Representatives at any time
from performing its constitutional mandate to initiate impeachment cases and to enjoin the
Senate from trying the same. The Respondents contend that under Section 3 (1), Article VI of
the Constitution, the House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all
cases of impeachment. For his part, the Respondent Intervenor Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel,
Jr. avers that under Section 6, Article XI of the Constitution, the Senate shall have the sole
power to try and decide all cases of impeachment and the Court is bereft of jurisdiction to
interfere in the trial and decision of the complaint against the Chief Justice. The Respondents
cite the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Walter Nixon v. United States. 2 The
Respondent Speaker Jose de Venecia, et al., also cited the Commentary of Michael Gerhart on
the said ruling of the United States Supreme Court that even in a case involving a violation of
explicit constitutional restraint, judicial intervention would undermine impeachment
effectiveness as a check on the executive, and would constitute judicial abuse of power; and
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that the judicial involvement in impeachment proceedings even if only for purposes of judicial
review is counterintuitive because it would eviscerate the important constitutional check
placed on the judiciary by the Framers. It is also contended that opening the door of judicial
review to the procedures used by the Senate in trying impeachments would expose the political
life of the country to months, or perhaps years of chaos. Furthermore, it is averred that judicial
review of the Senate's trial would introduce the same risks of bias as would participation in the
trial itself.
I find the contentions of the Respondents to be without merit.
By the jurisdiction of the Court over the subject matter is meant the nature of the cause of
action and of the relief sought. This is conferred by the sovereign authority which organizes the
court, and is to be sought for in the general nature of its powers, or in authority specially
conferred. 3 It is axiomatic that jurisdiction is conferred by the Constitution and by the laws in
force at the time of the commencement of the action. 4
In the petitions at bar, as can be gleaned from the averments therein, the petitioners sought
the issuance of the writs of certiorari, prohibition and injunction against the Respondents, on
their claim that the Respondent House of Representatives violated Section 3(5), Article XI of the
Constitution when it approved and promulgated on November 28, 2001 Sections 16 and 17,
Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings.
The Petitioners also averred in their petitions that the initiation by the Respondents
Congressmen Gilbert C. Teodoro and Felix William D. Fuentebella of the impeachment case
against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. on October 23, 2003 via a complaint for impeachment
filed is barred by the one-year time line under Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution.
They further assert that the Respondent House of Representatives committed a grave abuse of
its discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in giving due course to the October 23,
2003 Complaint of Impeachment and in insisting on transmitting the same to the Respondent
Senate.
Under Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution, "judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court
and in such lower courts as may be established by law. The judicial power of the Court includes
the power to settle controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the
Government." In Estrada v. Desierto, 5 this Court held that with the new provision in the
Constitution, courts are given a greater prerogative to determine what it can do to prevent
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch
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or instrumentality of government. The Constitution is the supreme law on all governmental
agencies, including the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Under Section 4(2), Article VIII of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is vested with jurisdiction
over cases involving the constitutionality, application and operation of government rules and
regulations, including the constitutionality, application and operation of rules of the House of
Representatives, as well as the Senate. 6 It is competent and proper for the Court to consider
whether the proceedings in Congress are in conformity with the Constitution and the law
because living under the Constitution, no branch or department of the government is supreme;
and it is the duty of the judiciary to determine cases regularly brought before them, whether
the powers of any branch of the government and even those of the legislative enactment of
laws and rules have been exercised in conformity with the Constitution; and if they have not, to
treat their acts as null and void. 7 Under Section 5, Article VIII of the Constitution, the Court has
exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari and prohibition. The House of Representatives
may have the sole power to initiate impeachment cases, and the Senate the sole power to try
and decide the said cases, but the exercise of such powers must be in conformity with and not
in derogation of the Constitution.
The Respondents cannot find refuge in the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Walter
Nixon v. United States 8 because the United States Constitution does not contain any provision
akin to that in Paragraph 1, Article VIII of the Constitution. The Nixon case involved the issue of
whether Senate Rule XI violated Impeachment Trial Clause Articles 1, 3, cl. 6, which provides
that the Senate shall have the power to try all impeachment cases. The subject matter in the
instant petitions involve the constitutionality of Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 House
Rules of Procedures in Impeachment Proceedings and the issue of whether the October 23,
2003 Complaint of Impeachment is time-barred under Section 3(5), Article XI of the
Constitution. Besides, unlike in the instant petitions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Nixon that
"there is no separate provision of the Constitution that could be defeated by allowing the
Senate final authority to determine the meaning of the word 'try' in the Impeachment Trial
Clause." The Court went on to emphasize that:
We agree with Nixon that [506 U.S. 224, 238] courts possess power to review either legislative
or executive action that transgresses identifiable textual limits. As we have made clear,
"whether the action of [either the Legislative or Executive Branch] exceeds whatever authority
has been committed is itself a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation, and is a
responsibility of this Court as ultimate interpreter of the Constitution."
The Court has jurisdiction over the issues
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The issue of whether or not this Court has jurisdiction over the issues has reference to the
question of whether the issues are justiciable, more specifically whether the issues involve
political questions. The resolution of the issues involves the construction of the word "initiate."
This, in turn, involves an interpretation of Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution, in relation
to Sections 3(1) and 3(2) thereof, which read:
Sec. 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial
by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
The construction of the word "initiate" is determinative of the resolution of the issues of
whether Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment
Proceedings violated Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution or not; and whether the
October 23, 2003 Complaint of Impeachment is a violation of the proscription in Section 3(5),
Article XI of the Constitution against impeachment proceedings being initiated against the same
Respondent more than once within a period of one year. The issue as to the construction of
Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure affects a person other than the Members of the
House of Representatives, namely, Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. These questions are of
necessity within the jurisdiction of the Court to resolve. As Justice Brandeis said in United States
v. George Otis Smith, 9 as to the construction to be given to the rules affecting persons other
than members of the Senate, the question presented is of necessity a judicial one. In Santiago v.
Sandiganbayan, 10 this Court held that it is an impairment or a clear disregard of a specific
constitutional precept or provision that can unbolt the steel door for judicial intervention. In
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Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, 11 this Court held that when the grant of power is
qualified, conditional or are subject to limitations, the issue of whether the proscribed
limitations have been met or the limitations respected, is justiciable the problem being one
of legality or validity, not its wisdom. Moreover, the jurisdiction to determine constitutional
boundaries has been given to this Court. Even in Nixon v. United States, 12 the Supreme Court
of the United States held that whether the action of the Legislative exceeds whatever authority
has been committed is itself a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation, and is the
responsibility of the Supreme Court as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.
On the prematurity of the petition and the need for Judicial Restraint
There is no doubt that the petitions at bar were seasonably filed against the respondents
Speaker Jose de Venecia and his co-respondents. In Aquilino Pimentel Jr. v. Aguirre, 13 this
Court ruled that upon the mere enactment of the questioned law or the approval of the
challenged action, the dispute is said to have ripened into a judicial controversy even without
any other overt act. Indeed, even a singular violation of the Constitution and/or the law is
enough to awaken judicial duty. In this case, the respondents had approved and implemented
Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 of the Rules of Procedure, etc. and had taken cognizance
of and acted on the October 23, 2003 complaint of impeachment; the respondents are bent on
transmitting the same to the respondent Senate. Inscrutably, therefore, the petitions at bar
were seasonably filed against said respondents. However, I agree with the respondent Senate
that the petitions were premature, the issues before the Court being those that relate solely to
the proceedings in the House of Representatives before the complaint of impeachment is
transmitted by the House of Representatives to the Senate.
On the issue of judicial self-restraint, Amici Curiae Dean Raul Pangalangan and Dean Pacifico
Agabin presented two variant aspects: Dean Raul Pangalangan suggests that the Court orders a
suspension of the proceedings in this Court and allow the complainants to withdraw their
complaints and the House of Representatives to rectify Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of
Procedure. Dean Pacifico Agabin suggests that the Court deny due course and dismiss the
petitions to enable the Senate to resolve the issues in the instant cases. Their proposals
prescind from the duty of the Court under Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution to resolve
the issues in these cases. The suggestions of the amici curiae relate to the principles of
exhaustion of administrative remedies and the doctrine of primary jurisdiction.
I find the suggestions of the amici curiae unacceptable.
First. The complainants and the endorsers of their complaint and even the House of
Representatives through the Respondent Speaker Jose de Venecia are bent on transmitting the
impeachment complaint to the Senate without delay.
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Second. The courts should take cognizance of and resolve an action involving issues within the
competence of a tribunal of special competence without the need of the latter having to
resolve such issue where, as in this case, Respondent Speaker Jose de Venecia and his co-
respondents acted with grave abuse of discretion, arbitrariness and capriciousness is manifest.
14
Third. The issue of whether or not the October 23, 2003 complaint of impeachment is time-
barred is not the only issue raised in the petitions at bar. As important, if not more important
than the said issue, is the constitutionality of Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 House
Rules of Procedure. In fact, the resolution of the question of whether or not the October 23,
2003 complaint for impeachment is time-barred is anchored on and is inextricably interrelated
to the resolution of this issue. Furthermore, the construction by the Court of the word "initiate"
in Sections 3(1) and (5) in relation to Section 3(3), Article XI of the Constitution is decisive of
both issues.
Fourth. The Senate has no jurisdiction to resolve the issue of the constitutionality of Sections 16
and 17, Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure, in the same manner that the House of
Representatives has no jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of the Impeachment Rules of
the Senate. The Senate and the House of Representatives are co-equal. I share the view of
Justice Isagani Cruz in his concurring opinion in Fernandez v. Torres 15 that an unconstitutional
measure should be slain on sight. An illegal act should not be reprieved by procedural
impediments to delay its inevitable annulment. If the Court resolves the constitutionality of
Rule V of the 2001 Rules of Procedure, and leaves the issue of whether the October 23, 2003
Complaint of Impeachment to be resolved by the Senate, this will promote multiplicity of suits
and may give rise to the possibility that the Court and the Senate would reach conflicting
decisions. Besides, in Daza v. Singson 16 this Court held that the transcendental importance to
the public, strong reasons of public policy, as well as the character of the situation that
confronts the nation and polarizes the people are exceptional circumstances demanding the
prompt and definite resolution of the issues raised before the Court.
Fifth. The doctrine of primary jurisdiction comes into play in the Senate only upon the
transmittal of the impeachment complaint to it.
Sixth. The resolution of whether the October 23, 2003 Complaint of Impeachment is time-
barred does not require the application of a special skill or technical expertise on the part of the
Senate.
Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 Rules of Procedure, etc. is unconstitutional
The October 23, 2003 Complaint of impeachment is time-barred
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The petitioners contend that Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure
construing Section 3(5), Article XI is unconstitutional. Respondent Speaker Jose G. de Venecia
and his co-respondents contend that the June 2, 2003 Complaint for Impeachment filed by
former President Joseph E. Estrada against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., and seven other
Justices of the Supreme Court "did not reach first base and was never initiated by the House of
Representatives, and, in fact, the committee report has yet to be filed and acted upon by the
House of Representatives." The respondents further assert that the only complaint for
impeachment officially initiated by the House of Representatives is the October 23, 2003
Complaint filed by Congressmen Gilberto Teodoro and Felix William Fuentebella. The
respondents finally contend that their interpretation of Rule V of the 2001 Rules of Procedure
in relation to Sections 3(4) and 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution is the only rational and
reasonable interpretation that can be given, otherwise, the extraordinary remedy of
impeachment will never be effectively carried out because impeachable officials can
conveniently allow or manipulate the filing of bogus complaints against them every year to
foreclose this remedy. The respondents cite the commentary of Fr. Joaquin Bernas, one of the
amici curiae of the Court in his book, "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,
A Commentary, 1996 ed., p. 1989."
The submissions of the respondents do not hold water.
Section 3, Article XI of the Constitution reads:
SECTION 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
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(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the
Senate.
(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office
and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment
according to law.
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section.
There are two separate and distinct proceedings undertaken in impeachment cases. The first is
that undertaken in the House of Representatives, which by express provision of the
Constitution, is given the authority to determine the sufficiency in form and substance of the
complaint for impeachment, the existence of probable cause, and to initiate the articles of
impeachment in the Senate. The second is the trial undertaken in the Senate. The authority to
initiate an impeachment case is lodged solely in the House of Representatives, while the
authority to try and decide an impeachment case is lodged solely in the Senate. The two
proceedings are independent of and separate from the other. This split authority avoids the
inconvenience of making the same persons both accusers and judges; and guards against the
danger of persecution from the prevalency of a factious spirit in either of those branches. 17
It must be noted that the word "initiate" is twice used in Section 3; first in paragraph 1, and
again in paragraph 5. The verb "initiate" in paragraph 1 is followed by the phrase "all cases of
impeachment," while the word "initiated" in paragraph 5 of the Section is preceded by the
words "no impeachment proceedings shall be." On the other hand, the word "file" or "filed" is
used in paragraphs 2 and 4 of Section 3.
There is a clear distinction between the words "file" and the word "initiate." Under the Rules of
Civil Procedure, complaints are filed when the same are delivered into the custody of the clerk
of court or the judge either by personal delivery or registered mail and the payment of the
docket and other fees therefor. In criminal cases, the information or criminal complaint is
considered filed when it is delivered with the court whether for purposes of preliminary
investigation or for trial as the case may be.
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Distinction must be made between the phrase "the case" in Section 3(1) from the word
"proceedings" in Section 3(5). "The case" refers to an action commenced or initiated in the
Senate by the transmittal of the articles of impeachment or the complaint of impeachment by
the House of Representatives for trial. The word "proceeding" means "the regular and orderly
progression of a lawsuit including all acts and events between the time of commencement and
the entry of judgment; an act or step that is part of a larger action; an act done by the authority
or direction of the court, express or implied; it is more comprehensive than the word "action"
but it may include in its general sense all the steps taken or measures adopted in the
prosecution or defense of an action including the pleadings and judgment. 18 The word
"initiate" means "to begin with or get going; make a beginning; perform or facilitate the first
action." 19
Based on the foregoing definitions, the phrase "initiate all cases of impeachment" in Section
3(1) refers to the commencement of impeachment cases by the House of Representatives
through the transmittal of the complaint for impeachment or articles of impeachment to the
Senate for trial and decision. The word "initiated" in Section 3(5), on the other hand, refers to
the filing of the complaint for impeachment with the office of the Secretary General of the
House of Representatives, either by a verified complaint by any member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any member thereof,
and referred to the committee of justice and human rights for action, or by the filing of a
verified complaint or resolution of impeachment by at least one-third of all members of the
House, which complaint shall constitute the Article of Impeachment. This is the equivalent of a
complaint in civil procedure or criminal complaint or information in criminal procedure.
According to amicus curiae Fr. Joaquin Bernas, the referral by the House of Representatives is
the initiating step which triggers the series of steps that follow in the House of Representatives.
The submission of Fr. Joaquin Bernas is shared by amicus curiae Justice Florenz D. Regalado,
who, aside from being an eminent authority on Remedial Law, was also a member of the
Constitutional Commission. During the hearing of this petition on November 5, 2003, he stated:
RET. JUSTICE REGALADO:
The point of filing does not mean that physical act of filing. If the
petition/complaint is filed and no further action was taken on it then it dies a natural death.
When we say initiation of impeachment proceedings where in the Court or the House of
Representatives has taken judicial cognizance by the referral to the corresponding committees
should be understood as part of the filing and that is why it was then. The problem here arose
in that based on the wordings of Article 11, this House of Representatives is, promulgated
pursuant to the power granted to them, the rules, Rule 2, Sections 2 and 3, on December 15,
1998 following the wording of the Constitution. But then, on November 28, 2001 they
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promulgated Rule 5, Section 16 and 17, this time requiring the vote of 1/3 for the purpose of
initiating the proceeding obliviously possibly of the fact that the Constitution as worded and
amended by the Maambong suggestion or advice was that it was it is initiated from the
moment of filing. The reason given and the justification given for that change was that it would
enable the, somebody in collusion with the one who is going to be impeached to file what they
call, what one petitioner calls here a "bogus" complaint for impeachment and thereby give the
party there in effect immunity for one year from the filing of an impeachment case, which is
meritorious. Now, number 1, I do not agree with that explanation because that is against the
Constitution. Strictly against the Constitution, that was a grave abuse of discretion to change it.
And further more, Second, that so-called problem about somebody coming in to file a "bogus"
impeachment complaint just to save the respondent for one year from another complaint is not
beyond solution. The mere fact that a "bogus" or insufficient or meritorious complaint was
deliberately resorted to in order to illegally avail of the one year period is the filing of a sham
pleading which has not produce any effect even in the Rules of Court we have proceedings, we
have provisions about sham pleadings, and for that matter the Court can even motu proprio
dismiss that initiatory pleading and here the House of Representatives I am sure could also
dismiss a sham bogus or sham complaint for impeachment. Now, on the matter of a problem
therein because the rules must always comply with the Constitution and it must be subject to
Constitutional sufficiency. The political, the question of the sole power of the Senate to try and
decide, will lie as obvious the matter of prematurity. Well, as I said this is not premature,
although I understand that Senate President Drilon pointed out that it was premature to sent
him a copy or resolution inviting them to observe to avoid any act which would render
academic wherein in the first place we are only on the first stage here. This Court has not yet
acquired jurisdiction to try the case on the merits, precisely the Court stated that the petition
are not yet being given due course, so they might, but at any rate, it is not premature. . . . the
inevitable result is not if the complaint with the votes are submitted to the Senate, the Senate
has no other recourse but to actually try the case. 20
The Rules of Procedure adverted to by the Justice Florenz D. Regalado is Sections 16 and 17,
Rule V which reads:
Sec. 16. Impeachment Proceedings Deemed Initiated. In cases where a Member of the
House files a verified complaint of impeachment or a citizen files a verified complaint that is
endorsed by a Member of the House through a resolution or endorsement against an
impeachable officer, impeachment proceedings against such official are deemed initiated on
the day the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against
such official, as the case may be, is sufficient in substance or on the date the house votes to
overturn or affirm the finding of the said committee that the verified complaint and/or
resolution, as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance.
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In cases where a verified complaint or a resolution of impeachment if filed or endorsed, as the
case may be, by at least one-third (1/3) of the Members of the House, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of such verified complaint or
resolution of impeachment with the Secretary General.
Sec. 17. Bar Against Initiation of Impeachment Proceedings. Within a period of one (1)
year from the date of impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated as provided in Section 16
hereof, no impeachment proceedings, as such, can be initiated against the same official.
The House of Representatives distorted and ignored the plain words of Section 3(1), Article XI
of the Constitution when it provided in Section 16, Rule V that a complaint of impeachment is
"deemed initiated" in the House of Representatives "on the day the committee of justice finds
that the said verified complaint and/or resolution against such official, as the case may be, is
sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding of the
said committee that the verified complaint and/or resolution, as the case may, be is not
sufficient in substance." Consequently, it also distorted the computation of the one year period
time bar under Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution to begin only "on the day this
committee on justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against such official is
sufficient in substance or on the date the house votes to overturn or affirm the finding of the
said committee that the verified complaint and/or resolution, as the case may be, is not
sufficient in substance." Since Rule V of the 2001 Rules of Procedure is contrary to the
Constitution, the said rule is void. Resultantly, the complaint for impeachment against seven
Justices of this Court filed by former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada with the office of the
Secretary General of the House of Representatives was initiated within the context of Section
3(5), Article XI of the Constitution. The complaint was filed on June 2, 2003 and referred to the
House Committee on Justice and Human Rights shortly thereafter. However, Congressmen
Gilberto Teodoro and Felix William Fuentebella initiated impeachment proceedings against
Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., with the Resolution of Endorsement of the Complaint for
Impeachment by more than one-third of the members of the House of Representatives on
October 23, 2003 well within one year from the initiation of the June 2, 2003 of former
President Joseph E. Estrada. Irrefragably then, the October 23, 2003 complaint for
impeachment filed by Congressmen Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William D. Fuentebella is
a second complaint for impeachment, which, under Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution,
is proscribed.
IN THE LIGHT OF ALL THE FOREGOING, I vote to DENY DUE COURSE and to DISMISS all the
petitions against the respondent Senate of the Philippines; and to DENY DUE COURSE and
DISMISS the petition in G.R. No. 160397; and to give due course and grant the rest of the
petitions against the respondent Speaker Jose G. de Venecia and his co-respondents.
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Accordingly, Rule V of the 2001 House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings which
was approved by the respondent House of Representatives on November 28, 2001 is
UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The complaint of impeachment filed by the respondents Representatives
Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. and Felix William G. Fuentebella on October 22, 2003 is barred under
Article XI, Section 3(5) of the Constitution.
AZCUNA, J .:
On June 2, 2003 a complaint for impeachment was filed in the House of Representatives against
Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. and seven Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. Filed by
former President Joseph E. Estrada, the complaint accused the respondents of conspiring to
remove him from power in violation of the Constitution.
After referral to the Committee on Justice, and after several hearings thereon, the Committee
voted that the complaint was sufficient in form. Subsequently, however, on October 22, 2003,
said Committee voted to dismiss the complaint for being insufficient in substance.
The next day, on October 23, 2003, another complaint for impeachment was filed in the House
of Representatives, this time only against Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr.. It was filed by two
Members of the House, namely, Representative Felix William D. Fuentebella and
Representative Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr., and charged the respondent with violating the law on
the use of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).
Subsequently, and before the complaint could be referred to the Committee on Justice, more
than seventy three other Representatives signed "resolutions of endorsement/impeachment,"
in relation to said complaint.
As the total number of those who filed and those who signed the "resolutions of
endorsement/impeachment" reached at least one-third of the members of the House, the
complainants and their supporters were poised to move for the transmittal of the complaint, as
constituting the Articles of Impeachment, to the Senate.
At this point, six of the petitions, which now total seventeen, seeking to declare the second
complaint unconstitutional were filed with this Court. The petitioners include two Members of
the House of Representatives (Representative Salacnib F. Baterina and Deputy Speaker Raul M.
Gonzales), later joined by six other Members thereof. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines also
filed a petition, while the others were Former Solicitor General Francisco I. Chavez, other
prominent lawyers, civic, labor and public-interest organizations, private individuals and plain
taxpayers.
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On October 28, 2003, the House of Representatives adjourned its session until November 10,
2003, for lack of quorum, which left the proponents of the impeachment unable to move to
transmit their complaint to the Senate. Also, on that date, this Court, acting on the petitions,
without granting the same due course, issued a status quo resolution.
The Senate President, the Honorable Franklin M. Drilon, on behalf of the Senate, filed a
Manifestation stating that the matter of the impeachment is not yet with the Senate as it has
not received the complaint or Articles of Impeachment from the House.
The House of Representatives, through the Speaker, the Honorable Jose de Venecia, Jr., as well
as the other Members of the House who support the complaint of impeachment, for their part,
through the legal counsel of the House, filed a Manifestation essentially questioning the
jurisdiction of the Court on the ground that the matter involves a political question that is,
under the Constitution, the sole prerogative of the House.
Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. was allowed to intervene and filed a Manifestation stating that
the Court has no jurisdiction over the matter, as it is a political question that is addressed solely
and exclusively to the Senate and the House of Representatives, and thus not justiciable.
The Solicitor General filed a Manifestation taking the position that the Court has jurisdiction,
that the matter is justiciable, and that the filing of the second impeachment complaint subject
of the petition is in violation of the Constitution.
On November 5 and 6, 2003, the Court en banc heard the eight amici curiae, as well as the
representatives and counsel of the parties. The Speaker and the House of Representatives and
proponent-Members thereof, made no appearance at said hearing.
First, the preliminary or threshold issues, locus standi, justiciability, jurisdiction, ripeness and
propriety.
There can be no serious challenge as to petitioners' locus standi. Eight are Members of the
House of Representatives, with direct interest in the integrity of its proceedings. Furthermore,
petitioners as taxpayers have sufficient standing, in view of the transcendental importance of
the issue at hand. It goes beyond the fate of Chief Justice Davide, as it shakes the very
foundations of our system of government and poses a question as to our survival as a
democratic polity.
There is, moreover, an actual controversy involving rights that are legally demandable, thereby
leaving no doubt as to the justiciability of the petitions.
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As to the jurisdiction of this Court, and whether the issue presents a political question that may
not be delved into by the Court, it is necessary to look into the structure and essence of our
system of government under the Constitution.
The starting principle is that the Philippines is a democratic and republican State and that
sovereignty resides in the people and all governed authority emanates from them (Art. II, Sec.
1).
As a republican State, the sovereign powers of the people are for the most part exercised
through representatives and not directly, except in the cases of suffrage, referenda and
initiatives.
Furthermore, the form of government we chose is that of a tripartite Presidential system,
whereby the great powers of government are divided among three separate, co-equal and co-
ordinate Departments. Accordingly, Articles VI, VII and VIII of the Constitution provide for the
Legislative Department, the Executive Department and the Judicial Department, with the
corresponding powers to make, to enforce and to interpret the laws.
The idea is to prevent absolutism that arises from a monopoly of power. Abuse is to be
prevented by dividing power, and providing for a system of checks and balances.
Historically, one such method of checks and balances is the institution of impeachment, or the
procedure of removing high officials on grounds spelled out in the Constitution. It was designed
as a check by the Legislative Department on the Executive and Judicial Departments.
It is worth noting, however, that the Constitution places the provision on impeachment, not in
Articles VI, VII and VIII on governmental powers, but in Article XI on Accountability of Public
Officers.
This placement is clearly intentional and meant to signal the importance of the accountability of
public officers, and that impeachment is an instrument of enforcing or securing that
accountability, and not simply a method of checks and balances by one power over another.
Now, how does Article XI provide for this power of impeachment?
Again, it divides the power the first part, or the power to "initiate," is given exclusively to the
House of Representatives. The second part, the power to try and decide, is given solely to the
Senate.
The provisions in full are, as follows:
Article XI
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Accountability of Public Officers
xxx xxx xxx
Section 3(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together within the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the
Senate.
(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office
and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and punishment
according to law.
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section.
It is clear, therefore, that unlike the Constitutions of other countries, that of the Philippines, our
Constitution, has opted textually to commit the sole power and the exclusive power to this and
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to that Department or branch of government, but in doing so it has further provided specific
procedures and equally textually identifiable limits to the exercise of those powers. Thus, the
filing of the complaint for impeachment is provided for in detail as to who may file and as to
what shall be done to the complaint after it is filed, the referral to the proper Committee, its
hearing, its voting, its report to the House, and the action of the House thereon, and the
timeframes for every step (Subsection 2).
Similarly, the required number of votes to affirm or override a favorable or contrary resolution
is stated (Subsection 3).
So, also, what is needed for a complaint or resolution of impeachment to constitute the Articles
of Impeachment, so that trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed, is specifically laid down,
i.e., a verified complaint or resolution of impeachment filed by at least one-third of all the
Members of the House (Subsection 4).
It is my view that when the Constitution not only gives or allocates the power to one
Department or branch of government, be it solely or exclusively, but also, at the same time, or
together with the grant or allocation, specifically provides certain limits to its exercise, then this
Court, belonging to the Department called upon under the Constitution to interpret its
provisions, has the jurisdiction to do so.
And, in fact, this jurisdiction of the Court is not so much a power as a duty, as clearly set forth in
Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution:
Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts
as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes THE DUTY of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the Government. (Emphasis ours)
This function of the Court is a necessary element not only of the system of checks and balances,
but also of a workable and living Constitution. For absent an agency or organ that can rule, with
finality, as to what the terms of the Constitution mean, there will be uncertainty if not chaos in
governance, i.e., no governance at all. This is what the noted writer on legal systems, Prof.
H.L.A. Hart, calls the need for a Rule of Recognition in any legal system, without which that
system cannot survive and dies (HART, THE CONCEPT OF LAW, 92, 118).
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From as far back as Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 (1936), it has been recognized
that this is not the supremacy of the Court. It is the supremacy of the Constitution and of the
sovereign Filipino people who ordained and promulgated it.
Proceeding, then, to do our duty of construing the Constitution in a matter of profound
necessity, we are called upon to rule whether the second complaint of impeachment is in
accord with Article XI, Sec. 3(5) of the Constitution, which states:
No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within
a period of one year.
I say it is not.
The purpose of this provision is two-fold: to prevent undue or too frequent harassment; and (2)
to allow the legislature to do its principal task, legislation.
As aptly put by the Association of Retired Justices of the Supreme Court:
"The debate as to the sense of the provision starts with the 1986 Constitutional Commission.
Commissioner Villacorta, Commissioner of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, posited this
query:
MR. VILLACORTA. Madam President, I would just like to ask the Committee three questions:
On Section 3, page 2, lines 12 to 14, the last paragraph reads as follows: 'No impeachment
proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one
year.' Does this mean that even if an evidence is discovered to support another charge or
ground for impeachment, a second or subsequent proceeding cannot be initiated against the
same official within a period of one year? In other words, one year has to elapse before a
second or subsequent charge or proceeding can be initiated. The intention may be to protect
the public official from undue harassment. On the other hand, is this not undue limitation on
the accountability of public officers? Anyway, when a person accepts a public trust, does he not
consider taking the risk of accounting for his acts or misfeasance in office?
The query produced this answer:
MR. ROMULO. Yes, the intention here really is to limit. This is not only to protect public officials
who, in this case, are of the highest category from harassment but also to allow the legislative
body to do its work which is lawmaking. Impeachment proceedings take a lot of time. And if we
allow multiple impeachment charges on the same individual to take place, the legislature will
do nothing else but that. (Emphasis ours.)
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"Madame Justice Cecilia Muoz-Palma [President of the Constitutional Commission], in her
article "We should remain steadfast with rule of law," Manila Bulletin, October 28, 2003, wrote:
The Foundation makes of record its considered view, based on the RECORD OF THE
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION OF 1986, at pages 373 to 376, and at 382 that:"
1. 'Initiation' refers to the filing of any verified complaint by a Member of the House or by
a citizen, with the endorsement of a Member of the House, as provided in Section 3 (2) of
Article XI of the Constitution, and initiation could not therefore refer to the filing of the Articles
of Impeachment in the Senate.
2. The one-year prohibition was intended by the framers of the Constitution to allow
Congress to continue with its main task (emphasis in the original)
"It is noted that in the Commissioner Villacorta query and the Commissioner Romulo reply, the
following values were considered: 'to protect the public official from undue harassment,' '(not
to impose an) undue limitation on the accountability of public officers,' 'acceptance of public
trust' and 'to allow the legislative body to do its work which is lawmaking.' In the end,
Commissioner Romulo struck this balance: '[T]his is not only to protect public officials who, in
this case, are of the highest category from harassment but also to allow the legislative body to
do its work which is lawmaking.'" (Emphasis ours.)
The contention is advanced that the second complaint is not covered by the provision because
under the Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings, adopted by the House on
November 28, 2001, the first complaint filed in June, four months earlier, is not yet "deemed
initiated," since it has not been reported to the floor of the House of Representatives. To my
mind, this position is not tenable.
This would stretch the meaning of "initiate" and defeat the purpose of the provision of the
Constitution. It would allow considerable harassment from multiple complaints filed within one
year against the same official. And, what is even more telling, it would tie up the Legislature,
particularly the House of Representatives, in too frequent and too many complaints of
impeachment filed before it, leaving it little time to attend to its principal task of legislation, as
is in fact happening now.
Therefore, the Rules referred to cannot be so interpreted as to defeat the objectives of Art. XI,
Section 3 (5). For the very grant of the power to adopt Rules on Impeachment, Article XI,
Section 3 (8), provides, too, a limit or qualification, thus:
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section. (Emphasis ours)
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And, besides, as pointed out by amicus curiae former Constitutional Commissioner, Joaquin G.
Bernas, S.J., said Rules refer to what are instances when a complaint for impeachment is
"deemed initiated," a matter of legal fiction, presumably for internal purposes of the House, as
to the timing of some of its internal action on certain relevant matters. The Constitutional
provision, on the other hand, states that "No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated," not
"deemed initiated," and, therefore, refers to actual initiation, not constructive initiation by legal
fiction.
It is also contended that the provision of Article XI, Sec. 3 (5) refers to impeachment
proceedings in the Senate, not in the House of Representatives.
This is premised on the wording of Article XI, Sec. 3 (1) which states that "The House of
Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment." Thus, it is
argued, cases of impeachment are initiated only by the filing thereof by the House of
Representatives with the Senate, so that impeachment proceedings are those that follow said
filing.
This interpretation does violence to the carefully allocated division of power found in Article XI,
Sec. 3. Precisely, the first part of the power is lodged with the House, that of initiating
impeachment, so that a respondent hailed by the House before the Senate is a fact and in law
already impeached. What the House initiates in the Senate is an impeachment CASE, not
PROCEEDINGS. The proceedings for impeachment preceded that and took place exclusively in
the House (in fact, non-members of the House cannot initiate it and there is a need for a House
member to endorse the complaint). And what takes place in the Senate is the trial and the
decision.
For this reason, Subsections (1) to (5) of Article XI, Section 3 apply to the House whereas
Subsections (6) and (7) apply to the Senate, and Subsection (8) applies to both, or to
"Congress." There is therefore a sequence or order in these subsections, and the contrary view
disregards the same.
Also, as aforestated, the very rules of the House are entitled "Rules of Procedure in
Impeachment Proceedings," and relate to every step of the impeachment proceedings, from
the filing of the complaint with the House up to the formation of a Prosecution panel.
I earlier adverted to the placement of the power of impeachment, not in the Articles on
governmental powers, but in the Article on accountability. This indicates that such power is not
essentially legislative in character, and is not primarily intended as a check by the Legislative
Department on the other branches. Its main purpose, at least under our Constitution, is to
achieve accountability, but this is to be done without detriment to the governmental power of
legislation under Article VI.
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A second complaint is not forever barred, but only temporarily so, or until June of 2004, to
forestall disruption of the principal task of legislative work. As it is, without casting aspersions
on co-equal Departments but stressing only the fact that all the Departments have so much to
do and so little time to do it, the national budget is yet to be approved. The rationale of the
Constitutional provision is, thus, evident.
Finally, prudential considerations are urged to allow the political Departments to correct any
mistake themselves, rather than for the Court to intervene.
It is not certain, however, whether the Senate is called upon to review what the House has
done in the exercise of its exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment, any more that
the House is wont to interfere with the sole power of the Senate to try and decide all such
cases. Besides, the Senate action would itself be part of what is sought to be avoided by
Subsection 5, namely, disruption of legislative work.
For all these reasons, I vote to grant the petitions by declaring the second complaint of
impeachment as one that, for now, runs counter to Article XI, Section 3 (5) of the Constitution.
TINGA, J .:
"May you live in interesting times," say the Chinese. Whether as a curse or a blessing, the
Filipinos' lot, it seems, is to live in "interesting" times. In our recent past, we saw the imposition
of martial law, 1 the ratification of a new Constitution, 2 the installation of a revolutionary
government, 3 the promulgation of a provisional Constitution 4 the ratification of the present
one, 5 as well as attempted power-grabs by military elements resulting in the arrest of the then
Defense Minister. 6 We saw the fall from grace of a once popular president, and the ascension
to office of a new president. 7
To all these profound events, the Court bore witness not silent but, possibly, muted. In all
these profound events, the Court took part mostly passive and, sometimes, so it is said,
active by upholding or revoking State action.
Today, the Court is again asked to bear witness and take part in another unparalleled event in
Philippine history: the impeachment of the Chief Justice. Perhaps not since Javellana and the
martial law cases has the Supreme Court, even the entire judiciary, come under greater
scrutiny.
The consequences of this latest episode in our colorful saga are palpable. The economy has
plunged to unprecedented depths. The nation, divided and still reeling from the last
impeachment trial, has again been exposed to a similar spectacle. Threats of "military
adventurists" seizing power have surfaced.
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Punctuating the great impact of the controversy on the polity is the astounding fast clip by
which the factual milieu has evolved into the current conundrum of far-reaching proportions.
Departing from the tradition of restraint of the House of Representatives, if not acute hesitancy
in the exercise of its impeachment powers, we saw more than one-third of the House
membership flexed their muscles in the past fortnight with no less than the Chief Justice as the
target.
On June 2, 2003, former President Estrada filed a complaint for impeachment before the House
of Representatives against six incumbent members of the Supreme Court who participated in
authorizing the administration of the oath to President Macapagal-Arroyo and declaring the
former president resigned in Estrada v. Desierto. 8 Chief among the respondents is Chief Justice
Hilario G. Davide, Jr. 9 himself, the same person who co-presided the impeachment trial of
Estrada and personally swore in Macapagal-Arroyo as President. Also impleaded in the
complaint are two other justices 10 for their alleged role, prior to their appointment to this
Court, in the events that led to the oath-taking. Nothing substantial happened until the House
Committee on Justice included the complaint in its Order of Business on October 13, 2003, and
ruled that the same was "sufficient in form." However, the Committee dismissed the complaint
on October 22, 2003 for being insufficient in substance. But the Committee deferred the
preparation of the formal Committee Report that had to be filed with the Rules Committee. As
it turned out, there was a purpose behind the delay. The next day, on October 23, 2003,
another complaint was filed by respondent Representatives Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and Felix
William Fuentebella against the Chief Justice alone, alleging irregularities in the administration
of the Judiciary Development Fund.
Several petitions, eighteen in all, were filed before this Court, most of them assailing specific
provisions of the House of Representatives' Rules on Impeachment, as well as the second
impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice, for being contrary to Section 3 (5), Article XI
of the Constitution on Accountability of Public Officers. Sections 2 and 3 of said Article read in
full:
SEC. 2. The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of
the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office, on
impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery,
graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and
employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.
SEC. 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
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(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any member of the House of
Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member thereof,
which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the
proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a
majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days
from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be
calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to
affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override
its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third
of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and
trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.
(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year.
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When
sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote.
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the
Senate.
(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office
and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party
convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial and punishment
according to law.
(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the
purpose of this section. [Emphasis supplied.]
The impugned House of Representatives Rules on Impeachment, specifically, Sections 16 and
17, Rule V (Bar against Initiation of Impeachment Proceedings against the same Official),
provide:
Sec. 16. Impeachment Proceedings Deemed Initiated. In cases where a Member of the
House files a verified complaint of impeachment or a citizen files a verified complaint that is
endorsed by a Member of the House through a resolution of endorsement against an
impeachable officer, impeachment proceedings against such official are deemed initiated on
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the day the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution against
such official, as the case may be is sufficient in substance or on the date the House votes to
overturn or affirm the finding of said Committee that the verified complaint and/or resolution,
as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance.
In cases where a verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed or endorsed, as the
case may be, by at least one-third (1/3) of the Members of the House, impeachment
proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of such verified complaint or
resolution of impeachment with the Secretary General.
Sec. 17. Bar Against Initiation of Impeachment Proceedings. Within a period of one (1)
year from the date impeachment proceedings are initiated as provided in Section 16 hereof, no
impeachment proceedings, as such, can be initiated against the same official.
In light of these contentions, petitioners indeed, the whole Filipino nation ask: What is the
Court going to do? To this, the Court answers: We do our duty.
The Constitution lodges on the House of Representatives "the exclusive power to initiate all
cases of impeachment," 11 and on the Senate, "the sole power to try and decide all cases of
impeachment." 12 But the power of impeachment is not inherently legislative; it is executive in
character. Neither is the power to try and decide impeachment cases; it is judicial by nature.
Thus, having emanated from the Constitution, the power of impeachment is circumscribed by
constitutional limitations. Even if impeachment as a legal concept is sui generis, it is not supra
legem.
An examination of the various constitutions which held sway in this jurisdiction reveals
structural changes in the legislature's role in the impeachment process. The 1935 Constitution,
as amended, was stark in its assignation of the impeachment authority. Therein, the House of
Representatives was vested "the sole power of impeachment," 13 while the Senate had "the
sole power to try all impeachments," 14 No other qualifications were imposed upon either
chamber in the exercise of their respective functions other than prescribing the votes required
for either chambers exercise of their powers, listing the public officials who are impeachable,
and enumerating the grounds for impeachment. The 1935 Constitution was silent on the
procedure. It was similar in this regard to the United States Constitution. 15
The 1973 Constitution provided a different system. As it ordained a unicameral legislature, the
power to impeach, try and decide impeachment cases was lodged on a single body, the
Batasang Pambansa. 16 The new structure would necessitate a change in constitutional
terminology regarding impeachment, the significance of which I shall discuss later. But despite
the change, the Constitution did not impose any new limitation that would hamstring the
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Batasang Pambansa in the discharge of its impeachment powers other than the required
majorities.
Now comes the 1987 Constitution. It introduces conditionalities and limitations theretofore
unheard of. An impeachment complaint must now be verified. 17 If filed by any member of the
House of Representatives or any citizen with the endorsement of a House Member, it shall be
included in the order of business within ten session days, and referred to the proper committee
within three session days thereafter. 18 Within sixty days after the referral, and after hearing
and upon majority vote of all its members, the proper committee shall submit its report to the
House, together with the corresponding resolution, and the House shall calendar the same for
consideration within ten days from receipt. 19 No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated
against the same official more than once within a period of one year. 20
While these limitations are intrusive on rules of parliamentary practice, they cannot take on a
merely procedural character because they are mandatory impositions made by the highest law
of the land, and therefore cannot be dispensed with upon whim of the legislative body. 21
Today, it must be settled once and for all which entity shall determine whether impeachment
powers have been exercised in accordance with law. This question is answered definitively by
our Constitution.
Section 1, Article VIII of the Constitution provides:
The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the Government.
Article VIII, Section 1 is a rule of jurisdiction, 22 one that expands the Supreme Court's authority
to take cognizance of and decide cases. No longer was the exercise of judicial review a matter
of discretion on the part of the courts bound by perceived notions of wisdom. No longer could
this Court shirk from the "irksome task of inquiring into the constitutionality and legality of
legislative or executive action when a justiciable controversy is brought before the courts by
someone who has been aggrieved or prejudiced by such action." 23 An eminent member of the
present Court, Justice Puno, described the scope of judicial power in this wise:
In the Philippine setting, there is a more compelling reason for courts to categorically reject the
political question defense when its interposition will cover up abuse of power. For section 1,
Article VIII of our Constitution was intentionally cobbled to empower courts ". . . to determine
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whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government." This power is new
and was not granted to our courts in the 1935 and 1972 Constitutions. It was not also Xeroxed
from the US Constitution or any foreign state constitution. The CONCOM granted this
enormous power to our courts in view of our experience under martial law where abusive
exercises of state power were shielded from judicial scrutiny by the misuse of the political
question doctrine. Led by the eminent former Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion, the CONCOM
expanded and sharpened the checking powers of the judiciary vis-a-vis the Executive and the
Legislative departments of government. In cases involving the proclamation of martial law and
suspension of the privilege of habeas corpus, it is now beyond dubiety that the government can
no longer invoke the political question defense.
In Tolentino v. Secretary of Finance, I posited the following postulates:
xxx xxx xxx
Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts
as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the Government.
Former Chief Justice Roberto R. Concepcion, the sponsor of this provision in the Constitutional
Commission explained the sense and the reach of judicial power as follows:
xxx xxx xxx
. . . In other words, the judiciary is the final arbiter on the question of whether or not a branch
of government or any of its officials has acted without jurisdiction, or so capriciously as to
constitute an abuse of discretion amounting to excess of jurisdiction. This is not only a judicial
power but a duty to pass judgment on matters of this nature.
This is the background of paragraph 2 of Section 1, which means that the courts cannot
hereafter evade the duty to settle matters of this nature, by claiming that such matters
constitute political question.
The Constitution cannot be any clearer. What it granted to this Court is not a mere power which
it can decline to exercise. Precisely to deter this disinclination, the Constitution imposed it as a
duty of this Court to strike down any act of a branch or instrumentality of government or any of
its officials done with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
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Rightly or wrongly, the Constitution has elongated the checking powers of this Court against the
other branches of government despite their more democratic character, the President and the
legislators being elected by the people. 24
Thus, in the case of the House and Senate Electoral Tribunals, this Court has assumed
jurisdiction to review the acts of these tribunals, notwithstanding the Constitutional mandate
that they shall act as "sole judges" of all contests relating to the election, returns, and
qualifications of the members of Congress. The Court asserted this authority as far back as
1936, in the landmark case of Angara v. Electoral Commission. 25 More recently, this Court,
speaking through Justice Puno, expounded on the history of the Court's jurisdiction over these
tribunals:
In sum, our constitutional history clearly demonstrates that it has been our consistent ruling
that this Court has certiorari jurisdiction to review decisions and orders of Electoral Tribunals on
a showing of grave abuse of discretion. We made this ruling although the Jones Law described
the Senate and the House of Representatives as the 'sole judges' of the election, returns, and
qualifications of their elective members. It cannot be overstressed that the 1935 Constitution
also provided that the Electoral Tribunals of the Senate and the House shall be the 'sole judge'
of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members.
Similarly, the 1973 Constitution transferred to the COMELEC the power be the 'sole judge' of all
contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of all members of the Batasang
Pambansa. We can not lose sight of the significance of the fact that the certiorari jurisdiction of
this Court has not been altered in our 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions.
. . . In the first place, our 1987 Constitution reiterated the certiorari jurisdiction of this Court on
the basis of which it has consistently assumed jurisdiction over decisions of our Electoral
Tribunals. In the second place, it even expanded the certiorari jurisdiction of this Court on the
basis of which it has consistently assumed jurisdiction over decision of our Electoral Tribunals.
In the second place, it even expanded the certiorari jurisdiction of this Court by defining judicial
power as ". . . the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has
been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any
branch or instrumentality of the Government. In the third place, it similarly reiterated the
power of the Electoral Tribunals of the Senate and of the House to act as the 'sole judge' of all
contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective members. 26
(citations omitted, emphasis supplied)
What circumscribes the Court's review of an act of Congress or a Presidential issuance are the
limits imposed by the Constitution itself or the notion of justiciability. 27 An issue is justiciable
rather than political where it involves the legality and not the wisdom of the act complained of,
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28 or if it pertains to issues which are inherently susceptible of being decided on grounds
recognized by law. 29 As this Court held in Tatad v. Secretary of Finance: 30
In seeking to nullify an act of the Philippine Senate on the ground that it contravenes the
Constitution, the petition no doubt raises a justiciable controversy. Where an action of the
legislative branch is seriously alleged to have infringed the Constitution, it becomes not only the
right but in fact the duty of the judiciary to settle the dispute. The question thus posed is
judicial rather than political. The duty to adjudicate remains to assure that the supremacy of
the Constitution is upheld. Once a controversy as to the application or interpretation of a
constitutional provision is raised before this Court, it becomes a legal issue which the Court is
bound by constitutional mandate to decide. 31
The petitions before us raise the question of whether the House of Representatives, in
promulgating and implementing the present House Rules on Impeachment, had acted in
accordance with the Constitution. 32 Some insist that the issues before us are not justiciable
because they raise a "political question." 33 This view runs contrary to established authority.
While the Court dismissed per its Resolution of September 3, 1985, the petition in G.R. No.
71688 (Arturo M. de Castro, et al. v. Committee on Justice, et al.) seeking to annul the
resolution of the Committee on Justice of the then Batasang Pambansa a verified complaint for
the impeachment of then President Marcos signed by more than one-fifth (1/5) of all the
members of the Batasang Pambansa, which was the requisite number under the 1973
Constitution, and to give due course to the impeachment complaint, the Court clearly conceded
that had the procedure for impeachment been provided in the 1973 Constitution itself, the
outcome of the petition would have been different. Wrote the Court:
. . . Beyond saying that the Batasan may initiate impeachment by a vote of at least one-fifth of
all its members and that no official shall be convicted without the concurrence of at least two-
thirds of all the members thereof, the Constitution says no more. It does not lay down the
procedure in said impeachment proceedings, which it had already done. The interpretation and
application of said rules are beyond the powers of the Court to review . . . 34
Forty-six years ago, this Court in Taada v. Cuenco 35 was confronted with the question of
whether the procedure laid down in the 1935 Constitution for the selection of members of the
Electoral Tribunals was mandatory. After ruling that it was not a political question, the Court
proceeded to affirm the mandatory character of the procedure in these words:
The procedure prescribed in Section 11 of Article VI of the Constitution for the selection of
members of the Electoral Tribunals is vital to the role they are called upon to play. It constitutes
the essence of said Tribunals. Hence, compliance with said procedure is mandatory and acts
performed in violation thereof are null and void. 36
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The footnote of authorities corresponding to the above-quoted pronouncement reads:
The need of adopting this view is demanded, not only by the factors already adverted to, but,
also, by the fact that constitutional provisions, unlike statutory enactments, are presumed to be
mandatory, 'unless the contrary is unmistakably manifest.' The pertinent rule of statutory
construction is set forth in the American Jurisprudence as follows:
In the interpretation of Constitutions, questions frequently arise as to whether particular
sections are mandatory or directory. The courts usually hesitate to declare that a constitutional
provision is directory merely in view of the tendency of the legislature to disregard provisions
which are not said to be mandatory. Accordingly, it is the general rule to regard constitutional
provisions as mandatory, and not to leave any discretion to the will of a legislature to obey or
to disregard them. This presumption as to mandatory quality is usually followed unless it is
unmistakably manifest that the provisions are intended to be merely directory. The analogous
rules distinguishing mandatory and directory statutes are of little value in this connection and
are rarely applied in passing upon the provisions of a Constitution.
So strong is the inclination in favor of giving obligatory force to the terms of the organic law
that it has even been said that neither by the courts nor by any other department of the
government may any provision of the Constitution be regarded as merely directory, but that
each and every one of its provisions should be treated as imperative and mandatory, without
reference to the rules and distinguishing between the directory and the mandatory statutes. (II
Am. Jur 686-687; emphasis supplied)
Ten years later, the Court in Gonzales v. Commission on Elections 37 resolved the issue of
whether a resolution of Congress proposing amendments to the Constitution is a political
question. It held that it is not and is therefore subject to judicial review.
Indeed, the power to amend the Constitution or to propose amendments thereto is not
included in the general grant of legislative powers to Congress. It is part of the inherent powers
of the people as the repository of sovereignty in a republican state, such as ours to make,
and, hence, to amend their own Fundamental Law. Congress may propose amendments to the
Constitution merely because the same explicitly grants such power. Hence, when exercising the
same, it is said that Senators and Members of the House of Representatives act, not as
members of Congress, but as component elements of a constituent assembly. When acting as
such, the members of Congress derive their authority from the Constitution, unlike the people,
when performing the same function for their authority does not emanate from the Constitution
they are the very source of all powers of government, including the Constitution itself .
Since, when proposing, as a constituent assembly, amendments to the Constitution, the
members of Congress derive their authority from the Fundamental Law, it follows, necessarily,
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that they do not have the final say on whether or not their acts are within or beyond
constitutional limits. Otherwise, they could brush aside and set the same at naught, contrary to
the basic tenet that ours is a government of laws, not of men, and to the rigid nature of our
Constitution. Such rigidity is stressed by the fact that, the Constitution expressly confers upon
the Supreme Court, the power to declare a treaty unconstitutional, despite the eminently
political character of treaty-making power.
In short, the issue whether or not a Resolution of Congress acting as a constituent assembly
violates the Constitution essentially justiciable, not political, and, hence, subject to judicial
review, and, to the extent that this view may be inconsistent with the stand taken in Mabanag
v. Lopez Vito, the latter should be deemed modified accordingly. The Members of the Court are
unanimous on this point. 38
In Sanidad v. Commission on Elections 39 questioned was the power of the President to
propose amendments to the Constitution on the ground that it was exercised beyond the limits
prescribed by the Constitution. Holding that it was a justiciable controversy, this Court made
the following disquisition:
The amending process both as to proposal and ratification, raises a judicial question. This is
especially true in cases where the power of the Presidency to initiate the amending process by
proposals of amendments, a function normally exercised by the legislature, is seriously
doubted. Under the terms of the 1973 Constitution, the power to propose amendments to the
Constitution resides in the interim National Assembly during the period of transition (Sec. 15,
Transitory Provisions). After that period, and the regular National Assembly in its active session,
the power to propose amendments becomes ipso facto the prerogative of the regular National
Assembly (Sec. 1, pars. 1 and 2 of Art. XVI, 1973 Constitution). The normal course has not been
followed. Rather than calling the interim National Assembly to constitute itself into a
constituent assembly, the incumbent President undertook the proposal of amendments and
submitted the proposed amendments thru Presidential Decree 1033 to the people in a
Referendum-Plebiscite on October 16. Unavoidably, the regularity of the procedure for
amendments, written in lambent words in the very Constitution sought to be amended, raises a
contestable issue. The implementing Presidential Decree Nos. 991, 1031, and 1033, which
commonly purport to have the force and effect of legislation are assailed as invalid, thus the
issue of the validity of said Decrees is plainly a justiciable one, within the competence of this
Court to pass upon. Section 2(2), Article X of the new Constitution provides: All cases involving
the constitutionality of a treaty, executive agreement, or law shall be heard and decided by the
Supreme Court en banc, and no treaty, executive agreement, or law may be declared
unconstitutional without the concurrence of at least ten Members . . . The Supreme Court has
the last word in the construction not only of treaties and statutes, but also of the Constitution
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itself. The amending, like all other powers organized in the Constitution, is in form a delegated
and hence a limited power, so that the Supreme Court is vested with that authority to
determine whether that power has been discharged within its limits.
Political questions are neatly associated with the wisdom, not the legality of a particular act.
Where the vortex of the controversy refers to the legality or validity of the contested act, that
matter is definitely justiciable or non-political. What is in the heels of the Court is not the
wisdom of the act of the incumbent President in proposing amendments to the Constitution,
but his constitutional authority to perform such act or to assume the power of a constituent
assembly. Whether the amending process confers on the President that power to propose
amendments is therefore a downright justiciable question. Should the contrary be found, the
actuation of the President would merely be a brutum fulmen. If the Constitution provides how
it may be amended, the judiciary as the interpreter of that Constitution, can declare whether
the procedure followed or the authority assumed was valid or not.
We cannot accept the view of the Solicitor General, in pursuing his theory of non-justiciability,
that the question of the President's authority to propose amendments and the regularity of the
procedure adopted for submission of the proposals to the people ultimately lie in the judgment
of the latter. A clear Descartes fallacy of vicious circle. Is it not that the people themselves, by
their sovereign act, provided for the authority and procedure for the amending act, provided
for the authority and procedure for the amending process when they ratified the present
Constitution in 1973? Whether, therefore, that constitutional provision has been followed or
not is indisputably a proper subject of inquiry, not by the people themselves of course
who exercise no power of judicial review, but by the Supreme Court in whom the people
themselves vested that power, a power which includes the competence to determine whether
the constitutional norms for amendments have been observed or not. And, this inquiry must be
done a priori not a posteriori, i.e., before the submission to and ratification by the people. 40
The doctrine that may be drawn from the cited decisions is clear. The determination of
compliance with a rule, requirement or limitation prescribed by the Constitution on the
exercise of a power delegated by the Constitution itself on a body or official is invariably a
justiciable controversy.
Contrary to what respondent Speaker Jose G. De Venecia and intervenor Senator Aquilino
Pimentel have posited, the ruling in Nixon v. United States 41 is not applicable to the present
petitions. There, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the constitutional challenge to the hearing of
the impeachment case by a committee created by the Senate is nonjusticiable. As pointed out
earlier, the provisions of the 1987 Constitution on impeachment at the House level explicitly lay
out the procedure, requirements and limitations. In contrast, the provision for the Senate level,
like in the U.S. Constitution, is quite sparse. So, if at all, Nixon would be persuasive only with
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respect to the Senate proceedings. Besides, Nixon leaves open the question of whether all
challenges to impeachment are nonjusticiable. 42
The term "judicial supremacy" was previously used in relation to the Supreme Court's power of
judicial review, 43 yet the phrase wrongly connotes the bugaboo of a judiciary supreme to all
other branches of the government. When the Supreme Court mediates to allocate
constitutional boundaries or invalidates the acts of a coordinate body, what it is upholding is
not its own supremacy, but the supremacy of the Constitution. 44 When this supremacy is
invoked, it compels the errant branches of government to obey not the Supreme Court, but the
Constitution. EHSADc
There are other requisites for justiciability of a constitutional question which we have
traditionally recognized namely: the presence of an actual case or controversy; the matter of
standing, or when the question is raised by a proper party; the constitutional question must be
raised at the earliest possible opportunity; and that the decision on the constitutional question
must be necessary to the determination of the case itself. 45 Justice Carpio-Morales, in her
scholarly opinion, has addressed these issues as applied to this case definitively. I just would
like to add a few thoughts on the questions of standing and ripeness.
It is argued that this Court cannot take cognizance of the petitions because petitioners do not
have the standing to bring the cases before us. Indeed, the numerous petitioners have brought
their cases under multifarious capacities, but not one of them is the subject of the
impeachment complaint. However, there is a wealth of jurisprudence that would allow us to
grant the petitioners the requisite standing in this case, and any lengthy disquisition on this
matter would no longer be remarkable. But worthy of note is that the petitioners in G.R. No.
160295 46 are suing in their capacities as members of the House of Representatives.
Considering that they are seeking to invalidate acts made by the House of Representatives,
their standing to sue deserves a brief remark.
The injury that petitioners-congressmen can assert in this case is arguably more demonstrable
than that of the other petitioners. Relevant in this regard is our ruling in Philippine Constitution
Association v. Enriquez, 47 wherein taxpayers and Senators sought to declare unconstitutional
portions of the General Appropriations Act of 1994. We upheld the standing of the legislators to
bring suit to question the validity of any official action which they claim infringes their
prerogatives as legislators, more particularly, the validity of a condition imposed on an item in
an appropriation bill. Citing American jurisprudence, we held:
[T]o the extent to the powers of Congress are impaired, so is the power of each member
thereof, since his office confers arrive to participate in the exercise of the powers of that
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institution (Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 [1939]; Holtzman v. Schlesinger, 484 F. 2d 1307
[1973]).
An act of the Executive which injuries the institution of Congress causes a derivative but
nonetheless substantial injury, which can be questioned by a member of Congress (Kennedy v.
Jones, 412 F. Supp. 353 [1976]). In such a case, any member of Congress can have a resort to
the courts. 48
There is another unique, albeit uneasy, issue on standing that should be discussed. The party
who can most palpably demonstrate injury and whose rights have been most affected by the
actions of the respondents is the Chief Justice of this Court. Precisely because of that
consideration, we can assume that he is unable to file the petition for himself and therefore
standing should be accorded the petitioners who manifest that they have filed their petitions
on his behalf. In a situation wherein it would be difficult for the person whose rights are
asserted to present his grievance before any court, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Barrows v.
Jackson 49 that the rules on standing are outweighed by the need to protect these fundamental
rights and standing may be granted. 50 There is no reason why this doctrine may not be
invoked in this jurisdiction.
Another point. Despite suggestions to the contrary, I maintain that the Senate does not have
the jurisdiction to determine whether or not the House Rules of Impeachment violate the
Constitution. As I earlier stated, impeachment is not an inherent legislative function, although it
is traditionally conferred on the legislature. It requires the mandate of a constitutional
provision before the legislature can assume impeachment functions. The grant of power should
be explicit in the Constitution. It cannot be readily carved out of the shade of a presumed
penumbra. 51 In this case, there is a looming prospect that an invalid impeachment complaint
emanating from an unconstitutional set of House rules would be presented to the Senate for
action. The proper recourse would be to dismiss the complaint on constitutional grounds. Yet,
from the Constitutional and practical perspectives, only this Court may grant that relief .
The Senate cannot be expected to declare void the Articles of Impeachment, as well as the
offending Rules of the House based on which the House completed the impeachment process.
The Senate cannot look beyond the Articles of Impeachment. Under the Constitution, the
Senate's mandate is solely to try and decide the impeachment complaint. 52 While the Senate
acts as an impeachment court for the purpose of trying and deciding impeachment cases, such
"transformation" does not vest unto the Senate any of the powers inherent in the Judiciary,
because impeachment powers are not residual with the Senate. Whatever powers the Senate
may acquire as an impeachment court are limited to what the Constitution provides, if any, and
they cannot extend to judicial-like review of the acts of co-equal components of government,
including those of the House.
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Pursuing the concept of the Senate as an impeachment court, its jurisdiction, like that of the
regular courts', has to be conferred by law and it cannot be presumed. 53 This is the principle
that binds and guides all courts of the land, and it should likewise govern the impeachment
court, limited as its functions may be. There must be an express grant of authority in the
Constitution empowering the Senate to pass upon the House Rules on Impeachment.
Ought to be recognized too is the tradition of comity observed by members of Congress
commonly referred to as "inter-chamber courtesy." It is simply the mutual deference accorded
by the chambers of Congress to each other. Thus, "the opinion of each House should be
independent and not influenced by the proceedings of the other." 54
While inter-chamber courtesy is not a principle which has attained the level of a statutory
command, it enjoys a high degree of obeisance among the members of the legislature, ensuring
as it does the smooth flow of the legislative process. Thus, inter-chamber courtesy was invoked
by the House in urging the Senate to terminate all proceedings in relation to the jueteng
controversy at the onset on the call for the impeachment of President Estrada, given the reality
that the power of impeachment solely lodged in the House could be infringed by hearings then
ongoing in the upper chamber. 55 On another occasion, Senator Joker Arroyo invoked inter-
chamber courtesy in refusing to compel the attendance of two congressmen as witnesses at an
investigation before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. 56
More telling would be the Senate's disposition as a Court of Impeachment of the Motion to
Quash filed by the lawyers of President Estrada during the latter's impeachment trial. The
Motion to Quash was premised on purported defects in the impeachment complaint which
originated from the House of Representatives. Had the Senate granted the Motion to Quash, it
would have, by implication, ruled on whether the House of Representatives had properly
exercised its prerogative in impeaching the President. The Senate refused to grant the Motion
to Quash, affirming the validity of the procedure adopted by the House of Representatives and
expressing its conformity to the House Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Proceedings. 57
It is my belief that any attempt on the part of the Senate to invalidate the House Rules of
Impeachment is obnoxious to inter-chamber courtesy. If the Senate were to render these
House Rules unconstitutional, it would set an unfortunate precedent that might engender a
wrong-headed assertion that one chamber of Congress may invalidate the rules and regulations
promulgated by the other chamber. Verily, the duty to pass upon the validity of the House
Rules of Impeachment is imposed by the Constitution not upon the Senate but upon this Court.
On the question of whether it is proper for this Court to decide the petitions, it would be
useless for us to pretend that the official being impeached is not a member of this Court, much
less the primus inter pares. Simplistic notions of rectitude will cause a furor over the decision of
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this Court, even if it is the right decision. Yet we must decide this case because the Constitution
dictates that we do so. The most fatal charge that can be levied against this Court is that it did
not obey the Constitution. The Supreme Court cannot afford, as it did in the Javellana case, to
abdicate its duty and refuse to address a constitutional violation of a co-equal branch of
government just because it feared the political repercussions.
And it is comforting that this Court need not rest merely on rhetoric in deciding that it is proper
for it to decide the petitions, despite the fact that the fate of the Chief Justice rests in the
balance. Jurisprudence is replete with instances when this Court was called upon to exercise
judicial duty, notwithstanding the fact that the application of the same could benefit one or all
members of the Court.
In Perfecto vs. Meer, 58 the Court passed upon the claim for a tax refund posed by Justice
Gregorio Perfecto. It was noted therein that:
. . . [a]s the outcome indirectly affects all the members of the Court, consideration of the
matter is not without its vexing feature. Yet adjudication may not be declined, because (a) we
are not legally disqualified; (b) jurisdiction may not be renounced, as it is the defendant who
appeals to this Court, and there is no other tribunal to which the controversy may be referred;
(c) supreme courts in the United States have decided similar disputes relating to themselves; (d)
the question touches all the members of the judiciary from top to bottom; and (e) the issue
involves the right of other constitutional officers whose compensation is equally protected by
the Constitution, for instance, the President, the Auditor-General and the members of the
Commission on Elections. Anyway the subject has been thoroughly discussed in many American
lawsuits and opinions, and we shall hardly do nothing more than to borrow therefrom and to
compare their conclusions to local conditions. There shall be little occasion to formulate new
propositions, for the situation is not unprecedented. 59
Again, in Endencia v. David, 60 the Court was called upon to resolve a claim for an income tax
refund made by a justice of this Court. This time, the Court had the duty to rule upon the
constitutionality of a law that subjected the income of Supreme Court Justices to taxation. The
Court did not hesitate to tackle the matter. It held:
Under our system of constitutional government, the Legislative department is assigned the
power to make and enact laws. The Executive department is charged with the execution or
carrying out of the provisions of said laws. But the interpretation and application of said laws
belong exclusively to the Judicial department. And this authority to interpret and apply the laws
extends to the Constitution. Before the courts can determine whether a law is constitutional or
not, it will have to interpret and ascertain the meaning not only of said law, but also of the
pertinent portion of the Constitution in order to decide whether there is a conflict between the
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two, because if there is, then the law will have to give way and has to be declared invalid and
unconstitutional. 61
In Radiowealth Inc. v. Agregado, 62 this Court was constrained to rule on the authority of the
Property Requisition Committee appointed by the President to pass upon the Court's
requisitions for supplies. There, this Court was compelled to assert its own financial
independence.
. . . the prerogatives of this Court which the Constitution secures against interference includes
not only the powers to adjudicate causes but all things that are reasonably necessary for
administration of justice. It is within its power, free from encroachment by the executive, to
acquire books and other office equipment reasonably needed to the convenient transaction of
its business. These implied, inherent, or incidental powers are as essential to the existence of
the court as the powers specifically granted. Without the power to provide itself with
appropriate instruments for the performance of its duties, the express powers with which the
Constitution endows it would become useless. The court could not maintain its independence
and dignity as the Constitution intends if the executive personally or through subordinate
officials could determine for the court what it should have or use in the discharge of its
functions, and when and how it should obtain them. 63
Thus, in the cited cases the Court deviated from its self-imposed policy of prudence and
restraint, expressed in pronouncements of its distaste of cases which apparently cater to the
ostensibly self-serving concerns of the Court or its individual members, and proceeded to
resolve issues involving the interpretation of the Constitution and the independence of the
judiciary. We can do no less in the present petitions. As was declared in Sanidad, 64 this Court
in view of the paramount interests at stake and the need for immediate resolution of the
controversy has to act a priori, not a posteriori, as it does now.
Having established the jurisdiction of this Court to decide the petitions, the justiciability of the
issues raised, and the propriety of Court action on the petition, I proceed now to discuss the
constitutionality of the House Rules on Impeachment.
It is suggested that the term "initiate" in Sections 3 (1) and 3 (5), Article XI is used in the same
sense, that is, the filing of the Articles of Impeachment by the House of Representatives to the
Senate:
SEC. 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases
of impeachment.
xxx xxx xxx
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(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once
within a period of one year. [Emphasis supplied.]
A review of the history of Section 3 (1) shows that this is not so.
The Constitution of the United States, after which the 1935 and subsequent Constitutions, as
well as our system of government, were patterned, simply states:
5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall
have the sole power of impeachment. [Sec. 3, Art. I.]
Note that the phrase "power to initiate all cases of impeachment" does not appear in the above
provision. Rather, it uses the shorter clause "power of impeachment." Webster's Third New
International Dictionary defines "impeach" as, "to bring an accusation (as of wrongdoing or
impropriety) against" or to "charge with a crime or misdemeanor." Specifically, it means, to
"charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misbehavior in office" or to "arraign
or cite for official misconduct." "Initiate," on the other hand, is defined primarily as, "to begin
or set going," or to "make a beginning of," or to "perform or facilitate the first actions, steps, or
stages of."
Contrast this with the merely slight difference between Section 3 (6), Article XI of the 1987
Philippine Constitution ("The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of
impeachment.") and Section 3.6, Article I of the U.S. Constitution ("The Senate shall have the
sole power to try all impeachments."), the former adding only the word "decide."
The original 1935 Constitution contemplated a unicameral legislature called National Assembly
but, nevertheless, employed a two-tiered impeachment process. The "sole power of
impeachment" was reposed on the Commission on Impeachment of the National Assembly,
composed of twenty-one members of the Assembly, 65 and the "sole power to try all
impeachments," on the National Assembly as a body, less those who belong to the Commission
on Impeachment. The pertinent provisions of Article IX (Impeachment) of the original 1935
Constitution read:
SEC. 2. The Commission on Impeachment of the National Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds of
its Members, shall have the sole power of impeachment.
SEC. 3. The National Assembly shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting
for that purpose the Members shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the
Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside. No person shall be
convicted without the concurrence of three-fourths of all the Members who do not belong to
the Commission on Impeachment.
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The 1935 Constitution was amended in 1940. The 1940 amendment transformed the legislature
from a unicameral to a bicameral body composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Like the U.S. Constitution, the 1935 Constitution, as amended, lodged the "power of
impeachment" in the House of Representatives. This was a simple but complete grant of power.
Just as simple and complete was the power to "try and decide" which rested in the Senate.
If the impeachment process is juxtaposed against a criminal case setting, the structural change
made the House the investigator and the proceeding before it akin to a preliminary
investigation, while the Senate was transformed into a court and the proceedings before it a
trial. This is the same structure under the 1987 Constitution.
Under the 1973 Constitution, the country reverted to a unicameral legislature; hence, the need
to spell out the specific phases of impeachment, i.e., "to initiate, try and decide," all of which
were vested in the Batasang Pambansa. This was the first time that the term "initiate"
appeared in constitutional provisions governing impeachment. Section 3, Article XIII thereof
states:
The Batasang Pambansa shall have the exclusive power to initiate, try, and decide all cases of
impeachment. Upon the filing of a verified complaint, the Batasang Pambansa may initiate
impeachment by a vote of at least one-fifth of all its Members. No official shall be convicted
without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the Members thereof. When the Batasang
Pambansa sits in impeachment cases, its Members shall be on oath or affirmation.
Unfortunately, it seems that the 1987 Constitution has retained the same term, "initiate," used
in the 1973 Constitution. The use of the term is improper and unnecessary. It is the source of
the present confusion. Nevertheless, the intent is clear to vest the power to "impeach" in the
House of Representatives. This is a much broader power that necessarily and inherently
includes not only the power to "initiate" impeachment cases before the Senate, but to
investigate complaints filed by any Member or any citizen, endorsed by any Member, against an
impeachable official. The term "initiate" in Section 3 (1), Article XI should, therefore, be read as
"impeach" and the manner in which it is used therein should be distinguished from its usage in
Section 3(5) of the same Article.
This conclusion is supported by the object to which the term relates in the different paragraphs
of the same Section 3. Thus, Section 3 (1) speaks of initiating "cases of impeachment" while
Section 3 (5) pertains to the initiation of "impeachment proceedings." "Cases," no doubt, refers
to those filed before the Senate. Its use and its sense are consistent throughout Section 3. Thus,
Section 3 (6) states, "The Senate shall have the sole power to decide all cases [not
"proceedings"] of impeachment." Section 3(7) provides, "Judgment in cases [not "proceedings"]
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of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold
any office . . ."
It may be argued, albeit unsuccessfully, that Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the House of
Representatives Rules on Impeachment constitute its interpretation of the Constitution and is,
therefore, entitled to great weight. A comparison of these Rules, which, incidentally were
promulgated only recently by the Twelfth Congress, with the previous Rules adopted by the
Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Congress demonstrates how little regard should be given to
this most recent "interpretation." The old Rules simply reproduced Section 3 (5), Article XI of
the Constitution, which is to say, that they employed a literal interpretation of the same
provision, thus:
RULE V
SEC. 14. Scope of Bar. No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same
official more than once within the period of one year.
The interpretation of the Twelfth Congress, however, is such a radical departure from previous
interpretations that it cannot be accorded the same great weight normally due it. Depending on
the mode of the filing of the complaint, the impeachment proceedings are "deemed" initiated
only:
(1) on the day the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution
against such official, as the case may be is sufficient in substance; or
(2) on the date the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding of said Committee that the
verified complaint and/or resolution, as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance; or
(3) at the time of the filing of such verified complaint or resolution of impeachment with
the Secretary General.
It is true that each Congress is not bound by the interpretation of the previous Congress, that it
has the power to disregard the Rules of its predecessor and to adopt its own Rules to conform
to what it may deem as the proper interpretation of the Constitution. Thus, in Osmea v.
Pendatun, 66 the Court held that "the rules adopted by deliberative bodies are subject to
revocation[,] modification or waiver at the pleasure of the body adopting them." The Court
concedes the congressional power to interpret the Constitution in the promulgation of its
Rules, but certainly not, as stated earlier, the congressional interpretation, which, in this case, is
so dreadfully contrary, not only to the language of the provision, but also to the intent of the
framers of the Constitution and to the provision's very philosophy.
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Many of the petitions refer to the Records of the Constitutional Commission, stressing
statements of Commissioner Regalado Maambong that "the initiation starts from the filing of
the complaint," and that it "is not the [House] body which initiates [the complaint]." The Court,
having heard from Commissioner Maambong himself, acting as amicus curiae, is persuaded by
the argument and the point need not be belabored. Plainly, the mere filing of the complaint (or
a resolution of impeachment) under Section 3(2) (or Section 3[4]) precludes the initiation of
another impeachment proceeding against the same official within one year.
The rationale behind the so-called time-bar rule cannot be overemphasized, however. The
obvious philosophy of the bar is two-fold. The first is to prevent the harassment of the
impeachable official, who shall be constrained to defend himself in such proceedings and, as a
consequence, is detracted from his official functions. The second is to prevent Congress from
being overwhelmed by its non-legislative chores to the detriment of its legislative duties. 67
The impugned House Rules on Impeachment defeats the very purpose of the time-bar rule
because they allow the filing of an infinite number of complaints against a single impeachable
official within a given year. Not until:
(1) . . . the day the Committee on Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution
against such official, as the case may be, is sufficient in substance; or
(2) . . . the date the House votes to overturn or affirm the finding of said Committee that
the verified complaint and/or resolution, as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance; or
(3) . . . the time of the filing of such verified complaint or resolution of impeachment with
the Secretary General.
are the impeachment proceedings deemed initiated. Until then, the right of the impeachable
official against harassment does not attach and is exposed to harassment by subsequent
complaints. Until then, the House would be swamped with the task of resolving these
complaints. Clearly, the Rules do not "effectively carry out the purpose of" Section 3, Article XI
and, in fact, quite creatively killed not only the language but the spirit behind the constitutional
proscription. Clearly, Sections 16 and 17, Rule V of the House Rules on Impeachment
contravene Section 3(5), Article XI of the Constitution. They must be struck down.
Consequently, the second impeachment complaint is barred pursuant to Section 3(4), Article XI
of the Constitution.
It is noteworthy that the above conclusion has been reached simply by taking into account the
ordinary meaning of the words used in the constitutional provisions in point, as well as their
rationale. Resort to the rule that the impeachment provisions should be given a narrow
interpretation in relation to the goal of an independent judiciary need not be made even. 68
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Nevertheless, this does not mean that the second impeachment complaint is forever barred;
only that it should be dismissed without prejudice to its re-filing after one year from the filing of
the first impeachment complaint. Indeed, this Court cannot deprive the House of the exclusive
power of impeachment lodged in the House by the Constitution.
In taking cognizance of this case, the Court does not do so out of empathy or loyalty for one of
our Brethren. Nor does it do so out of enmity or loathing toward the Members of a co-equal
branch, whom I still call and regard as my Brethren. The Court, in assuming jurisdiction over this
case, to repeat, does so only out of duty, a duty reposed no less by the fundamental law.
Fears that the Court's conclusion today would yield a constitutional crisis, that the present
controversy would shake the judicial institution to its very foundations, I am confident, would
not come to pass. Through one seemingly endless martial rule, two bloodless uprisings, three
Constitutions and countless mini-revolts, no constitutional crisis erupted; the foundations of
the Court did not shake. This is not because, in the clashes between the great, perhaps greater,
Branches of Government, the Court is "Supreme" for it holds neither sword nor purse, and
wields only a pen. Had the other Branches failed to do the Court's bidding, the Court would
have been powerless to enforce it. The Court stands firm only because its foundations are
grounded on law and logic and its moorings on justice and equity. It is a testament to the
Filipino's respect for the rule of law that in the face of these "clashes," this Court's
pronouncements have been heeded, however grudgingly at times. Should there be more
"interesting" times ahead for the Filipino, I pray that they prove to be more of a blessing than a
curse.
ACCORDINGLY, concurring in the comprehensive and well-reasoned opinion of Justice Carpio-
Morales, I vote to GRANT the petitions insofar as they seek the declaration of the
unconstitutionality of the challenged provisions of the House Rules on Impeachment and the
pronouncement that the second impeachment complaint is time-barred on the basis of Section
3(5), Article XI of the Constitution. aATHES
Footnotes
1. Rollo, G.R. No. 160261 at 180-182; Annex H.
2. Per Special Appearance with Manifestation of House Speaker Jose C. De Venecia, Jr.
(Rollo, G.R. No. 160261 at 325-363) the pertinent House Resolution is HR No. 260, but no copy
of the same was submitted before this Court.
3. Id. at 329. Created through PD No. 1949 (July 18, 1984), the JDF was established to help
ensure and guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as mandated by the Constitution and
public policy and required by the impartial administration of justice by creating a special fund
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to augment the allowances of the members and personnel of the Judiciary and to finance the
acquisition, maintenance and repair of office equipment and facilities.
4. Rollo, G.R. No. 160261 at 120-139; Annex E.
5. The initial complaint impleaded only Justices Artemio V. Panganiban, Josue N. Bellosillo,
Reynato S. Puno, Antonio T. Carpio and Renato C. Corona, and was later amended to include
Justices Jose C. Vitug, and Leonardo A. Quisumbing.
6. Supra note 4 at 123-124.
7. Rollo, G.R. No. 160403 at 48-53; Annex "A."
8. http://www.congress.gov.ph/search/bills/hist_show.php?bill_no=RPT9999.
9. Rollo, G.R. No. 160262 at 8.
10. Rollo, G.R. No. 160295 at 11.
11. Rollo, G.R. No. 160262 at 43-84; Annex B.
12. Supra note 2.
13. A perusal of the attachments submitted by the various petitioners reveals the following
signatories to the second impeachment complaint and the accompanying
Resolution/Endorsement. 1. Gilbert Teodoro, Jr., NPC, Tarlac (principal complainant) 2. Felix
Fuentebella, NPC, Camarines Sur (second principal complainant) 3. Julio Ledesma, IV, NPC,
Negros Occidental 4. Henry Lanot, NPC, Lone District of Pasig City 5. Kim Bernardo-Lokin, Party
List-CIBAC 6. Marcelino Libanan, NPC, Lone District of Eastern Samar, (Chairman, House
Committee on Justice) 7. Emmylou Talino-Santos, Independent, 1st District, North Cotabato 8.
Douglas RA. Cagas, NPC, 1st District, Davao del Sur 9. Sherwin Gatchalian, NPC, 1st District,
Valenzuela City 10. Luis Bersamin, Jr., PDSP-PPC, Lone District of Abra 11. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz
Alayon, 6th District, Cebu 12. Ernesto Nieva, Lakas, 1st District, Manila 13. Edgar R. Erice, Lakas,
2nd District, Kalookan City 14. Ismael Mathay III, Independent, 2nd District, Quezon City 15.
Samuel Dangwa, Reporma, Lone District of Benguet 16. Alfredo Maraon, Jr., NPC, 2nd District,
Negros Occidental 17. Cecilia Jalosjos-Carreon, Reporma, 1st District, Zamboanga del Norte 18.
Agapito A. Aquino, LDP, 2nd District, Makati City 19. Fausto L. Seachon, Jr., NPC, 3rd District,
Masbate 20. Georgilu Yumul-Hermida, Pwersa ng Masa, 4th District, Quezon 21. Jose Carlos
Lacson, Lakas, 3rd District, Negros Occidental 22. Manuel C. Ortega, NPC, 1st District, La Union
23. Uliran Joaquin, NPC, 1st District, Laguna 24. Soraya C. Jaafar, Lakas, Lone District of Tawi-
Tawi 25. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Lakas, 1st District, Bulacan 26. Claude P. Bautista, NPC, 2nd
District, Davao Del Sur 27. Del De Guzman, Lakas, Lone District of Marikina City 28. Zeneida
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Cruz-Ducut, NPC, 2nd District, Pampanga 29. Augusto Baculio, Independent-LDP, 2nd District,
Misamis Oriental 30. Faustino Dy III, NPC-Lakas, 3rd District, Isabela 31. Agusto Boboy Syjuco,
Lakas, 2nd District, Iloilo 32. Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon, LDP, Lone District of Muntinlupa City 33.
Leovigildo B. Banaag, NPC-Lakas, 1st District, Agusan del Norte 34. Eric Singson, LP, 2nd District,
Ilocos Sur 35. Jacinto Paras, Lakas, 1st District, Negros Oriental 36. Jose Solis, Independent, 2nd
District, Sorsogon 37. Renato B. Magtubo, Party List-Partido ng Manggagawa 38. Herminio G.
Teves, Lakas, 3rd District, Negros Oriental 39. Amado T. Espino, Jr., Lakas, 2nd District,
Pangasinan 40. Emilio Macias, NPC, 2nd District, Negros Oriental 41. Arthur Y. Pingoy, Jr., NPC,
2nd District, South Cotabato 42. Francis Nepomuceno, NPC, 1st District, Pampanga 43. Conrado
M. Estrella III, NPC, 6th District, Pangasinan 44. Elias Bulut, Jr., NPC, Lone District of Apayao 45.
Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo, NPC, Lone District of Camiguin 46. Juan Pablo Bondoc, NPC, 4th
District, Pampanga 47. Generoso DC. Tulagan, NPC, 3rd District, Pangasinan 48. Perpetuo
Ylagan, Lakas, Lone District of Romblon 49. Michael Duavit, NPC, 1st District, Rizal 50. Joseph
Ace H. Durano, NPC, 5th District, Cebu 51. Jesli Lapus, NPC, 3rd District, Tarlac 52. Carlos Q.
Cojuangco, NPC, 4th District, Negros Occidental 53. Georgidi B. Aggabao, NPC, 4th District,
Santiago, Isabela 54. Francis Escudero, NPC, 1st District, Sorsogon 55. Rene M. Velarde, Party
List-Buhay 56. Celso L. Lobregat, LDP, Lone District of Zamboanga City 57. Alipio Cirilo V.
Badelles, NPC, 1st District, Lanao del Norte 58. Didagen P. Dilangalen, Pwersa ng Masa, Lone
District of Maguindanao 59. Abraham B. Mitra, LDP, 2nd District, Palawan 60. Joseph Santiago,
NPC, Lone District of Catanduanes 61. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, NPC, 1st District of South
Cotabato & General Santos City 62. Aleta C. Suarez, LP, 3rd District, Quezon 63. Rodolfo G.
Plaza, NPC, Lone District of Agusan del Sur 64. JV Bautista, Party List-Sanlakas 65. Gregorio
Ipong, NPC, 2nd District, North Cotabato 66. Gilbert C. Remulla, LDP, 2nd District, Cavite 67.
Rolex T. Suplico, LDP, 5th District, Iloilo 68. Celia Layus, NPC, Cagayan 69. Juan Miguel Zubiri,
Lakas, 3rd District, Bukidnon 70. Benasing Macarambon Jr,. NPC, 2nd District, Lanao del Sur 71.
Josefina Joson, NPC, Lone District of Nueva Ecija 72. Mark Cojuangco, NPC, 5th District,
Pangasinan 73. Mauricio Domogan, Lakas, Lone District of Baguio City 74. Ronaldo B. Zamora,
Pwersa ng Masa, Lone District of San Juan 75. Angelo O. Montilla, NPC, Lone District of Sultan
Kudarat 76. Roseller L. Barinaga, NPC, 2nd District, Zamboanga del Norte 77. Jesnar R. Falcon,
NPC, 2nd District, Surigao del Sur 78. Ruy Elias Lopez, NPC, 3rd District, Davao City.
14. Rollo, G.R. No. 160261 at 5. Petitioner had previously filed two separate impeachment
complaints before the House of Representatives against Ombudsman Aniano Desierto.
15. 299 SCRA 744 (1998). In Chavez v. PCGG, petitioner Chavez argued that as a taxpayer
and a citizen, he had the legal personality to file a petition demanding that the PCGG make
public any and all negotiations and agreements pertaining to the PCGG's task of recovering the
Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth. Petitioner Chavez further argued that the matter of recovering the
ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses is an issue of transcendental importance to the public. The
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Supreme Court, citing Taada v. Tuvera, 136 SCRA 27 (1985), Legaspi v. Civil Service
Commission, 150 SCRA 530 (1987) and Albano v. Reyes, 175 SCRA 264 (1989) ruled that
petitioner had standing. The Court, however, went on to elaborate that in any event, the
question on the standing of petitioner Chavez was rendered moot by the intervention of the
Jopsons who are among the legitimate claimants to the Marcos wealth.
16. 384 SCRA 152 (2002). In Chavez v. PEA-Amari Coastal Bay Development Corporation,
wherein the petition sought to compel the Public Estates Authority (PEA) to disclose all facts on
its then on-going negotiations with Amari Coastal Development Corporation to reclaim portions
of Manila Bay, the Supreme Court said that petitioner Chavez had the standing to bring a
taxpayers suit because the petition sought to compel PEA to comply with its constitutional
duties.
17. 224 SCRA 792 (1993).
18. Subsequent petitions were filed before this Court seeking similar relief. Other than the
petitions, this Court also received Motions for Intervention from among others, Sen. Aquilino
Pimentel, Jr., and Special Appearances by House Speaker Jose C. de Venecia, Jr., and Senate
President Franklin Drilon.
19. Supra note 2 at 10.
20. Justice Florenz D. Regalado, Former Constitutional Commissioners Justice Regalado E.
Maambong and Father Joaquin G. Bernas, SJ, Justice Hugo E. Gutierrez, Jr., Former Minister of
Justice and Solicitor General Estelito P. Mendoza, Deans Pacifico Agabin and Raul C.
Pangalangan, and Former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga.
21. Rollo, G.R. No. 160261 at 275-292.
22. Id. at 292.
23. 63 Phil 139 (1936).
24. Id. at 157-159.
25. Vide Alejandrino v. Quezon, 46 Phil. 83 (1924); Taada v. Cuenco, 103 Phil. 1051 (1957);
Ynot v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 148 SCRA 659, 665 (1987).
26. CONST., art. VIII, sec. 1.
27. 5 US 137 (1803).
28. Id. at 180.
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29. In In re Prautch, 1 Phil 132 (1902), this Court held that a statute allowing for
imprisonment for non-payment of a debt was invalid. In Casanovas v. Hord, 8 Phil 125 (1907),
this Court invalidated a statute imposing a tax on mining claims on the ground that a
government grant stipulating that the payment of certain taxes by the grantee would be in lieu
of other taxes was a contractual obligation which could not be impaired by subsequent
legislation. In Concepcion v. Paredes, 42 Phil 599 (1921), Section 148 (2) of the Administrative
Code, as amended, which provided that judges of the first instance with the same salaries
would, by lot, exchange judicial districts every five years, was declared invalid for being a
usurpation of the power of appointment vested in the Governor General. In McDaniel v.
Apacible, 42 Phil 749 (1922), Act No. 2932, in so far as it declares open to lease lands containing
petroleum which have been validly located and held, was declared invalid for being a
deprivation of property without due process of law. In U.S. v. Ang Tang Ho, 43 Phil 1 (1922), Act
No. 2868, in so far as it authorized the Governor-General to fix the price of rice by proclamation
and to make the sale of rice in violation of such a proclamation a crime, was declared an invalid
delegation of legislative power.
30. VICENTE V. MENDOZA, SHARING THE PASSION AND ACTION OF OUR TIME 62-53 (2003).
31. Supra note 23.
32. Id. at 156-157.
33. Florentino P. Feliciano, The Application of Law: Some Recurring Aspects Of The Process
Of Judicial Review And Decision Making, 37 AMJJUR 17, 24 (1992).
34. Ibid.
35. I Record of the Constitutional Commission 434-436 (1986).
36. 31 SCRA 413 (1970).
37. Id. at 422-423; Vide Baranda v. Gustilo, 165 SCRA 757, 770 (1988); Luz Farms v.
Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, 192 SCRA 51 (1990); Ordillo v. Commission on
Elections, 192 SCRA 100 (1990).
38. 194 SCRA 317 (1991).
39. Id. at 325 citing Maxwell v. Dow, 176 US 581.
40. 152 SCRA 284 (1987).
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41. Id. at 291 citing Gold Creek Mining v. Rodriguez, 66 Phil 259 (1938), J.M. Tuason & Co.,
Inc. v. Land Tenure Administration, supra note 36, and I TAADA AND FERNANDO,
CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES 21 (Fourth Ed.).
42. 82 Phil 771 (1949).
43. Id. at 775.
44. Supra note 38.
45. Id. at 330-331.
46. Id. at 337-338 citing 16 CJS 2.31; Commonwealth v. Ralph, 111 Pa. 365, 3 Atl. 220 and
Household Finance Corporation v. Shaffner, 203, SW 2d, 734, 356 Mo. 808.
47. Supra note 2.
48. Citing Section 3 (6), Article VIII of the Constitution provides:
(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of
impeachment. When sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation.
When the President of the Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
preside, but shall not vote. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds
of all the Members of the Senate.
49. Supra note 21.
50. 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
51. Supra note 2 at 349-350 citing Gerhardt, Michael J. The Federal Impeachment Process: A
Constitutional and Historical Analysis, 1996, p. 119.
52. 227 SCRA 100 (1993).
53. Id. at 112.
54. US Constitution. Section 2. . . . The House of Representatives shall have the sole Power
of Impeachment.
55. 1987 Constitution, Article XI, Section 3 (1). The House of Representatives shall have the
exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.
56. Supra note 2 at 355 citing AGRESTO, THE SUPREME COURT AND CONSTITUTIONAL
DEMOCRACY, 1984, pp. 112-113.
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57. 369 U.S. 186 (1962).
58. 141 SCRA 263 (1986).
59. Supra note 25.
60. 298 SCRA 756 (1998).
61. 272 SCRA 18 (1997).
62. 201 SCRA 792 (1991).
63. 187 SCRA 377 (1990).
64. 180 SCRA 496 (1989).
65. Supra note 25.
66. Supra note 23.
67. Civil Liberties Union v. Executive Secretary, supra note 38 at 330-331.
68. Id. at 158-159.
69. IBP v. Zamora, 338 SCRA 81 (2000) citing Joya v. PCGG, 225 SCRA 568 (1993); House
International Building Tenants Association, Inc. v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 151 SCRA 703
(1987); Baker v. Carr, supra note 57.
70. Citing Kilosbayan, Inc. v. Morato, 250 SCRA 130 (1995).
71. Citing Tatad v. Secretary of the Department of Energy, 281 SCRA 330 (1997).
72. Citing Kapatiran ng mga Naglilingkod sa Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas, 163 SCRA 371, 378
(1988).
73. Rule 3, Section 2. Parties in interest. A real party in interest is the party who stands to
be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the
suit. Unless otherwise authorized by law or these Rules, every action must be prosecuted or
defended in the name of the real party in interest.
74. JG Summit Holdings, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 345 SCRA 143, 152 (2000).
75. 246 SCRA 540 (1995).
76. Id. at 562-564.
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77. Agan v. PIATCO, G.R. No. 155001, May 5, 2003 citing BAYAN v. Zamora, 342 SCRA 449,
562-563 (2000) and Baker v. Carr, supra note 57; Vide Gonzales v. Narvasa, 337 SCRA 733
(2000); TELEBAP v. COMELEC, 289 SCRA 337 (1998).
78. Chavez v. PCGG, supra note 15.
79. Del Mar v. PAGCOR, 346 SCRA 485, 501 (2000) citing Kilosbayan, Inc., et al. v. Morato,
supra note 70; Dumlao v. COMELEC, 95 SCRA 392 (1980); Sanidad v. Comelec, 73 SCRA 333
(1976); Philconsa v. Mathay, 18 SCRA 300 (1966); Pascual v. Secretary of Public Works, 110 Phil
331 (1960); Vide Gonzales v. Narvasa, supra note 77; Pelaez v. Auditor General, 15 SCRA 569
(1965); Philconsa v. Gimenez, 15 SCRA 479 (1965); Iloilo Palay & Corn Planters Association v.
Feliciano, 13 SCRA 377 (1965).
80. BAYAN v. Zamora, supra note 77 citing Bugnay v. Laron, 176 SCRA 240, 251-252 (1989);
Vide Del Mar v. PAGCOR, supra note 79; Gonzales v. Narvasa, supra note 77; TELEBAP v.
COMELEC, supra note 77; Kilosbayan, Inc. v. Morato, supra note 70; Joya v. PCGG, supra note
69; Dumlao v. COMELEC, supra note 79; Sanidad v. COMELEC, supra note 79; Philconsa v.
Mathay, supra note 79; Pelaez v. Auditor General, supra note 79; Philconsa v. Gimenez, supra
note 79; Iloilo Palay & Corn Planters Association v. Feliciano, supra note 79; Pascual v. Sec. of
Public Works, supra note 79.
81. Gonzales v. Narvasa, supra note 77 citing Dumlao v. COMELEC, supra note 79; Sanidad v.
COMELEC, supra note 79; Tan v. Macapagal, 43 SCRA 677 (1972).
82. Tatad v. Garcia, Jr., 243 SCRA 436 (1995); Kilosbayan, Inc. v. Morato, supra note 70 at
140-141 citing Philconsa v. Enriquez, 235 SCRA 506 (1994); Guingona v. PCGG, 207 SCRA 659
(1992); Gonzales v. Macaraig, 191 SCRA 452 (1990); Tolentino v. COMELEC, 41 SCRA 702 (1971).
83. Del Mar v. PAGCOR, supra note 79 at 502-503 citing Philconsa v. Mathay, supra note 79.
84. Chinese Flour Importers Association v. Price Stabilization Board, 89 Phil 439, 461 (1951)
citing Gallego et al. vs. Kapisanan Timbulan ng mga Manggagawa, 46 Off. Gaz, 4245.
85. Philippine Constitution Association v. Gimenez, supra note 79 citing Gonzales v.
Hechanova, 118 Phil. 1065 (1963); Pascual v. Secretary, supra note 79.
86. Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, 338 SCRA 81 (2000).
87. MVRS Publications, Inc. v. Islamic Da'wah Council of the Philippines, G.R. No. 135306,
January 28, 2003, citing Industrial Generating Co. v. Jenkins 410 SW 2d 658; Los Angeles County
Winans, 109 P 640; Weberpals v. Jenny, 133 NE 62.
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88. Mathay v. Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, 58 SCRA 559, 570-571 (1974), citing
Moore's Federal Practice 2d ed., Vol. III, pages 3423-3424; 4 Federal Rules Service, pages 454-
455; Johnson, et al. vs. Riverland Levee Dist., et al., 117 2d 711, 715; Borlasa v. Polistico, 47 Phil.
345, 348 (1925).
89. MVRS Publications, Inc. v. Islamic Dawah Council of the Philippines, supra note 87,
dissenting opinion of Justice Carpio; Bulig-bulig Kita Kamag-Anak Assoc. v. Sulpicio Lines, 173
SCRA 514, 514-515 (1989); Re: Request of the Heirs of the Passengers of Doa Paz, 159 SCRA
623, 627 (1988) citing Moore, Federal Practice, 2d ed., Vol. 3B, 23-257, 23-258; Board of
Optometry v. Colet, 260 SCRA 88 (1996), citing Section 12, Rule 3, Rules of Court; Mathay v.
Consolidated Bank and Trust Co., supra note 88; Oposa v. Factoran, supra note 17.
90. Kilosbayan v. Guingona, 232 SCRA 110 (1994).
91. Kilosbayan, Inc. v. Morato, supra note 70 citing Civil Liberties Union v. Executive
Secretary, supra note 38; Philconsa v. Gimnez, supra note 79; Iloilo Palay and Corn Planters
Association v. Feliciano, supra note 79; Araneta v. Dinglasan, 84 Phil. 368 (1949); vide Tatad v.
Secretary of the Department of Energy, 281 SCRA 330 (1997); Santiago v. COMELEC, 270 SCRA
106 (1997); KMU v. Garcia, Jr., 239 SCRA 386 (1994); Joya v. PCGG, 225 SCRA 368 (1993); Carpio
v. Executive Secretary, 206 SCRA 290 (1992); Osmea v. COMELEC, 199 SCRA 750 (1991); Basco
v. PAGCOR, 197 SCRA 52 (1991); Guingona v. Carague, 196 SCRA 221 (1991); Daza v. Singson,
supra note 64; Dumlao v. COMELEC, supra note 79.
92. Firestone Ceramics, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 313 SCRA 522, 531 (1999) citing Gibson vs.
Revilla, 92 SCRA 219; Magsaysay-Labrador v. Court of Appeals, 180 SCRA 266, 271 (1989).
93. Supra note 79.
94. Id. at 403.
95. Supra note 81.
96. Id. at 681.
97. SECTION 3. . . .
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the
House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution of endorsement by any Member
thereof, which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred
to the proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing,
and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty
session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution
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shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt
thereof.
(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be
necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the
Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.
98. Supra note 25.
99. Id. at 1067.
100. Vide Barcelon v. Baker, 5 Phil. 87 (1905); Montenegro v. Castaeda, 91 Phil. 882 (1952);
De la Llana v. COMELEC, 80 SCRA 525 (1977).
101. Vide Avelino v. Cuenco, 83 Phil. 17 (1949); Macias v. COMELEC, 3 SCRA 1 (1961);
Cunanan v. Tan, Jr., 5 SCRA 1 (1962); Gonzales v. COMELEC, 21 SCRA 774 (1967); Lansang v.
Garcia, 42 SCRA 448 (1971); Tolentino v. COMELEC, supra note 82.
102. 50 SCRA 30 (1973).
103. RECORD OF THE CONSTITUTION COMMISSION, Vol. 1, July 10, 1986 at 434-436.
104. Id. at 439-443.
105. 177 SCRA 668 (1989).
106. Id. at 695.
107. 203 SCRA 767 (1991).
108. Id. at 776 citing Gonzales v. Macaraig, 191 SCRA 452, 463 (1990).
109. Supra note 64.
110. Id. at 501.
111. Supra note 57.
112. Id. at 217.
113. 2 RECORD OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION at 286.
114. Id. at 278, 316, 272, 283-284, 286.
115. 76 Phil 516 (1946).
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116. Id. at 522.
117. Supra note 37.
118. Id. at 58 citing Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. v. Secretary of
Agrarian Reform, 175 SCRA 343 (1989).
119. Vide concurring opinion of Justice Vicente Mendoza in Estrada v. Desierto, 353 SCRA
452, 550 (2001); Demetria v. Alba, 148 SCRA 208, 210-211 (1987) citing Ashwander v. TVA, 297
U.S. 288 (1936).
120. As adverted to earlier, neither a copy the Resolution nor a record of the hearings
conducted by the House Committee on Justice pursuant to said Resolution was submitted to
the Court by any of the parties.
121. Rollo, G.R. No. 160310 at 38.
122. Supra note 107.
123. Id. at 777 (citations omitted).
124. Rollo, G.R. No. 160262 at 73.
125. Supra note 2 at 342.
126. Perfecto v. Meer, 85 Phil 552, 553 (1950).
127. Estrada v. Desierto, 356 SCRA 108, 155-156 (2001); Vide Abbas v. Senate Electoral
Tribunal, 166 SCRA 651 (1988); Vargas v. Rilloraza, et al., 80 Phil. 297, 315-316 (1948); Planas v.
COMELEC, 49 SCRA 105 (1973), concurring opinion of J. Concepcion.
128. Philippine Judges Association v. Prado, 227 SCRA 703, 705 (1993).
129. Ibid.
130. Ramirez v. Corpuz-Macandog, 144 SCRA 462, 477 (1986).
131. Supra note 127.
132. Estrada v. Desierto, supra note 127.
133. Id. at 155-156 citing Abbas, et al. v. Senate Electoral Tribunal, supra note 127; Vargas v.
Rilloraza, et al., supra note 127.
134. Supra note 119 at 210-211.
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135. Supra note 119.
136. Board of Optometry v. Colet, 260 SCRA 88, 103 (1996); Joya v. PCGG, supra note 69 at
575; Macasiano v. National Housing Authority, 224 SCRA 236, 242 (1993); Santos III v.
Northwestern Airlines, 210 SCRA 256, 261-262 (1992), National Economic Protectionism
Association v. Ongpin, 171 SCRA 657, 665 (1989).
137. Supra note 2 at 353.
138. Supra note 33 at 32.
139. Supra note 102.
140. Supra note 33.
141. 249 SCRA 244, 251 (1995).
142. Id. at 251.
143. 2 RECORDS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION at 342-416.
144. Id. at 416.
145. Commissioner Maambong's Amicus Curiae Brief at 15.
146. 2 RECORD OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION at 375-376, 416.
147. 77 Phil. 192 (1946).
148. Justice Hugo Gutierrez's Amicus Curiae Brief at 7.
149. 109 Phil. 863 (1960).
150. 40 SCRA 58, 68 (1971).
151. 286 U.S. 6, 33 (1932).
152. 277 SCRA 268, 286 (1997).
153. 144 U.S. 1 (1862).
154. Supra note 152 at 304-306.
155. Id. at 311.
156. Id. at 313.
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157. Supra note 152 at 314-315.
158. Supra note 50.
BELLOSILLO, J.:
1. See Association of Small Landowners in the Phil., Inc., et al. v. Secretary of Agrarian
Reform, G.R. No. 78742, 14 July 1989, 175 SCRA 343.
2. Hamilton, A., Federalist No. 65, Friday, 7 March 1788.
3. G.R. No. 141284, 15 August 2000, 338 SCRA 81.
4. 369 U.S. 186 (1962).
5. Ibid.
6. 122 L. Ed. 2d 1, 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
7. 60 U.S., 393 (1857).
8. See Concurring Opinion of J . Souter in Nixon v. United States, 122 L. Ed. 2d 1, 506 U.S.
224 (1993).
9. 63 Phil. 139, 158 (1936).
10. Records of the Constitutional Commission, 28 July 1986, pp. 374-376.
11. Fr. Joaquin C. Bernas, S.J., "Position Paper on the Impeachment of Chief Justice Davide,
Jr.," 5 November 2003.
PUNO, J., concurring and dissenting:
1. Ferrick, Impeaching Federal Judges: A Study of the Constitutional Provisions, 39
Fordham L Rev. p. 5 (1970).
2. Ibid.
3. Schlesinger, Reflections on Impeachment, 67 Geo Wash L Rev. No. 3 (March 1999), p.
693.
4. Turley, Congress as Grand Jury: The Role of the House of Representatives in the
Impeachment of an American President, 67 Geo Wash L. Rev. No. 3 (March 1999) p. 763.
5. Ibid.
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6. Perrick, op cit., p. 5.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Turley, op cit., pp. 763-764.
11. Gerhardt, The Lessons of Impeachment History, 67 Geo Wash L Rev. 67, No. 3 (March
1999), p. 11. Mc Dowell, "High Crimes and Misdemeanors." Recovering the Intentions of the
Founders, 67 Geo Wash L. Rev. 67, No. 3 (March 1999), p. 636-638; Bergeir, Impeachment, The
Constitutional Problems, 61 (1973).
12. Feerick, op cit., pp. 12-14.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Feerick, op cit., pp. 14-15.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid. at pp. 15-16.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid., p. 20.
27. Ibid., p. 21.
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28. Ibid., p. 22.
29. Ibid., p. 22.
30. Ibid. pp. 22-23, Delegates Pinkney and Williamson were against the Senate while
Delegates Sherman and Morris objected to the Supreme Court.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Gerhardt, op cit., pp. 605-606.
34. Gerhardt, op cit., p. 609.
35. McDowell, op. cit. p. 635.
36. See e.g., People ex. Rel. Robin v. Hayes, 82 Misc. 165, 143 N.Y.S. 325 (Sup. Ct. 1913) aff'd
163 App. Div. 725, 149 N.Y.S. 250, appeal dismissed 212 N.Y.S. 603, 106 N.E. 1041 (1914); State
ex rel Trapp v. Chambers, 96 Okla. 78, 220 P. 8310 (1923); Ritter v. US, 84 Ct. Cl. 293 (1936, cert.
denied 300 US 668 (1937).
37. 38 506 US 224 (1993), 122 L ed. 1, 113 S Ct. 732.
38. 100 Phil. 1101.
39. 73 SCRA 333.
40. 369 US 186 (1962).
41. "'Judicial activism' is a political, sociological, or pejorative term, not a constitutional one.
An activist court answers questions its critics believe it need never have considered; it imposes
its policy views not merely on the parties before it but it usurps the legislature's functions.
Throughout the 1960s, the Warren Court was brandied as the epitome of activism because of
its long line of procedural due process cases, extending the Bill of Rights to the States and its
equal protection anti-segregation cases, beginning with Brown v. Board of Education. Such
decisions have been cited as the hallmark of liberal judicial 'result oriented' activism."
Lieberman, The Evolving Constitution, pp., 277-278 (1982 ed).
42. Ibid., p. 290; See also Position Paper of Amicus Curiae Pacifico Agabin, former Dean of
the UP College of Law, p. 1.
43. Art. XI, sec. 3 of the 1987 Constitution.
44. Ibid., Art. XI, sec. 3(1).
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45. Ibid., Art. XI, sec. 3(6).
46. Ibid.
47. Art. VIII, sec. 19 of the 1987 Constitution.
48. Art. XI, sec. 2 of the 1987 Constitution.
49. Ibid., sec. 3(6).
50. Ibid.
51. Article VII, sec. 18 of the 1987 Constitution.
52. Ibid.
53. Ibid.
54. E.g., the Commission on Appointment ceased to have any power to confirm
appointments to the Judiciary.
55. Art. VIII, sec. 1 of the 1987 Constitution.
56. Ibid., Art. VIII, sec. 5 (5).
57. 92 SCRA 642.
58. 63 Phil. 139 (1936).
59. Cruz, Philippine Political Law, p. 88 (1998 ed.).
60. Ibid., p. 89.
61. 201 SCRA 792 (1991).
62. Vera v. Avelino, 77 Phil. 192, 203.
63. 63 Phil. 139 (1936).
64. 246 SCRA 384 (1995).
65. 235 SCRA 630 (1994).
66. G.R. No. 157013, July 10, 2003.
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67. See also Marcos v. Manglapus, 177 SCRA 668 (1989); Bengzon, Jr. v. Senate Blue Ribbon
Committee, 203 SCRA 767 (1991); Guingona v. Carague, 196 SCRA 221 (1991); Gonzales v.
Macaraig, Jr., 191 SCRA 452 (1990) and Coseteng v. Mitra, Jr., 187 SCRA 377 (1990).
68. Wallace, C., "The Jurisprudence of Judicial Restraint: A Return to the Moorings", George
Washington Law Review, vol. 50, no. 1 (Nov. 1981), pp. 1, 5.
69. Ducat, C. Constitutional Interpretation: Rights of the Individual, vol. II (1999), E9.
70. Neuhaus, R., "A New Order of Religious Freedom," The George Washington Law Review
(1992), vol. 60 (2), pp. 620, 621, 624-625.
71. Wallace, C., "The Jurisprudence of Judicial Restraint: A Return to the Moorings", George
Washington Law Review, vol. 50, no. 1 (Nov. 1981), pp. 1, 5.
72. Conkle, D., "A 'Conservative' Judge and the First Amendment: Judicial Restraint and
Freedom of Expression", The Georgetown Law Journal, vol. 74, no. 6 (Aug. 1986), pp. 1585,
1586.
73. Wallace, C., "The Jurisprudence of Judicial Restraint: A Return to the Moorings", The
George Washington Law Review, vol. 50, no. 1 (Nov. 1981), pp. 1, 16.
74. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), pp. 656, 668, citing James
B. Thayer, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, 7 Harvard Law
Review, 129, 140-144 (1893).
75. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), p. 656, 668, citing William
R. Castro, The Supreme Court in the Early Republic: The Chief Justiceships of John Jay and Oliver
Ellsworth 222-27 (1995). Other citations omitted.
76. Bickel, A., The Least Dangerous Branch: The Supreme Court at the Bar of Politics (1962),
p. 35.
77. Neely, Mr. Justice Frankfurter's Iconography of Judging, 82 KY LJ 535 (1994).
78. Ibid.
79. Ducat, C. Constitutional Interpretation: Rights of the Individual, vol. II (1999), E9.
80. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), pp. 656, 702, citing James
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B. Thayer, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, 7 Harvard Law
Review, 129, 155-156 (1893).
81. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), pp. 656, 702, citing James
B. Thayer, The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law, 7 Harvard Law
Review, 129, 155-156 (1893); see also Mark Tushnet, Policy Distribution and Democratic
Debilitation: Comparative Illumination of the Countermajoritarian Difficulty, 94 Michigan Law
Review, pp. 245, 299-300 (1995).
82. McConnell, M., "Religious Freedom at a Crossroads", The University of Chicago Law
Review (1992), vol. 59(1), pp. 115, 139.
83. Neuhaus, R., "A New Order of Religious Freedom," The George Washington Law Review
(1992), vol. 60 (2), p. 620, 624-625.
84. Ducat, C. Constitutional Interpretation: Rights of the Individual, vol. II (1999), E11.
85. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), p. 656, 702, citing Michael
Stokes Paulsen, "The Most Dangerous Branch: Executive Power to Say What Law is", 83 Geo.
L.J. 217 (1994).
86. 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
87. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), p. 656, 667, citing Michael
Stokes Paulsen, "The Most Dangerous Branch: Executive Power to Say What Law is", 83 Geo.
L.J. 217, 332 (1994).
88. Schapiro, R., "Judicial Deference and Interpretive Coordinacy in State and Federal
Constitutional Law", Cornell Law Review, vol. 85, no. 3 (March 2000), p. 656, 715-716.
89. Alejandrino v. Quezon, 46 Phil. 83 (1924).
90. Zandueta v. de la Cuesta, 66 Phil. 615 (1938).
91. Missouri, K. & T . Co. v. May, 194 US 267, 270; People v. Crane, 214 N.Y. 154, 174 cited
in Cardozo, The Nature of the Judicial Process.
VITUG, J.:
1. Section 1, Article II, 1987 Constitution.
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2. UP Law Center Constitutional Revision Project, Manila, 1970.
3. Michael Nelson, ed., "The Presidency A to Z," Washington D.C. Congressional Quarterly
(1998).
4. Ibid.
5. Numeriano F. Rodriguez, Jr., "Structural Analysis of the 1973 Constitution," Philippine
Law Journal, 57:104, March 1982, 1st Quarter.
6. Nelson, supra.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. See Article II, Section 4, US Constitution.
11. Michael J. Gerhardt, "The Constitutional Limits to Impeachment and its Alternatives,"
Texas Law Review, Vol. 68 (1989).
12. Michael J. Gerhardt, "The Lessons of Impeachment History," The George Washington
Law Review, Vol. 67 (1999).
13. Nelson, supra.
14. Other differences include The English House of Lords can convict by mere majority,
but the US House of Representatives need to have a concurrence of two-thirds of its members
to render a guilty verdict. The House of Lords can order any punishment upon conviction; the
US Senate can only order the removal from Office, and the disqualification to hold and enjoy
any office of honor, trust and profit. The English monarch can exercise pardon on any convicted
official; such power was expressly withheld from the US President. The English monarch can
never be impeached, while the American president is not immune from the impeachment
process. (Gerhardt, "The Lessons of Impeachment History," supra.).
15. Nelson, supra.
16. Ibid.
17. Article III, Bill of Rights. Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
18. UP Law Center, supra.
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19. Akhil Reed Amar, "On Impeaching Presidents," Hofstra Law Review, Winter 1999, Vol.
28, No. 2.
20. For example, the constitutional provision reads, "The president, vice-president . . . may
be removed from office, on impeachment for . . ." The clause not only provides the authority
for Congress to impeach and convict on proof of such conduct, it also undercuts the notion that
Congress is obliged to impeach for any particular offense. It goes without saying that if its
purpose is to remove seriously unfit public officials to avoid injury to the Republic,
impeachment may not be resorted to if injury is not likely to flow from the assailed conduct. As
American history would attest, falsehoods, proven to have been committed by public officials in
both their private and public capacities, are not always deemed by the US Senate as sufficient
to warrant removal from office. Overwhelming consensus further show that impeachment is
not required for all impeachable acts or that failure to bring impeachment erring conduct of
some erring officials in the past mean that those were not impeachable offenses (Thus, it is
argued that the failure to impeach Nixon on the basis of his tax returns should not be taken to
mean that merely 'private conduct' is not impeachable. In so deciding not to indict Nixon, other
factors were apparently considered by the US House of Representatives, including the
sufficiency of the evidence and the need to streamline the already complicated case against
Nixon [McGinnis] infra.).
21. Amar, supra.
22. John O. McGinnis, "Impeachment: The Structural Understanding," The George
Washington Law Review, Winter 1999, Vol. 28, No. 2.
23. Ibid.
24. Stephen B. Presser, "Would George Washington Have Wanted Bill Clinton Impeached?",
The George Washington Law Review, Vol. 76, 1999.
25. Ibid.
26. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., "Reflections on Impeachment," The George Washington Law
Review, Vol. 67 (1999).
27. Presser, supra.
28. Schlesinger, supra.
29. Taada vs. Cuenco, 103 Phil 1051.
30. In contrast, Section 2, Article III of the US Federal Constitution granted only limited
power to the US Supreme Court
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"The judicial power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this
Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under
their Authority; to all Cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States
shall be a Party; to controversies between two or more states; between a state and
citizens of another state; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of
different states; and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or
subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those
in which a State shall be Party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the
other Cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to
law and fact with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
31. Section 1, Article 8, 1987 Constitution.
32. 83 Phil 17.
33. 3 SCRA 1. (1961).
34. L-10520, February 28, 1965.
35. 5 SCRA 1 (1962).
36. 42 SCRA 448.
37. Estrada vs. Desierto, 353 SCRA 452.
38. Angara vs. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil 139.
39. Nixon vs. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
40. Asa Hutchinson, "Did the Senate Trial Satisfy the Constitution and the Demands of
Justice?" Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 28 (1999).
41. 395 US 486 (1969).
42. Gerhardt, Impeachment and its Alternatives, supra.
43. Ibid.
44. Jonathan Turley, "Congress As Grand Jury: The Role Of The House Of Representatives In
The Impeachment Of An American President," The George Washington Law Review, Vol. 67
(1999).
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45. Ibid.
46. Full text of the House Rules states:
Rule V, Bar Against Initiation Of Impeachment Proceedings Against the same
official.
Section 16. Impeachment Proceedings Deemed Initiated. In cases where a
Member of the House files a verified complaint of impeachment or a citizen filed a verified
complaint that is endorsed by a Member of the House through a resolution of endorsement
against an impeachable officer, impeachment proceedings against such official are deemed
initiated on the day the Committee of Justice finds that the verified complaint and/or resolution
against such official, as the case may be, is sufficient in substance or on the date the House
votes to overturn or affirm the findings of the said Committee that the verified complaint
and/or resolution, as the case may be, is not sufficient in substance.
In cases where a verified complaint or a resolution of Impeachment is filed or
endorsed, as the case may be, by at least one-third (1/3) of the Members of the House,
Impeachment proceedings are deemed initiated at the time of the filing of such verified
complaint or resolution of impeachment with the Secretary General.
47. Succinctly explained by Fr. Joaquin Bernas, S.J., himself a member of the Constitutional
Commission and an amicus curiae invited by this Court.
48. Presser, supra.
49. Cohens v. Virginia, 19 US (6 Wheat) 265, 404, (1821).
PANGANIBAN, J., concurring:
1. In GR. No. 160292.
2. 342 SCRA 449, October 10, 2000.
3. Thus, on pages 23 to 24 of this book, I wrote:
"I can write 'thank you' a thousand and one times but I can never adequately
acknowledge the pervading influence of former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga in my life.
His very endearing Preface is just one more recent undeserved favor I have received from this
great man. To be sure, there are many countless others he has kindly given me in the course of
the last 35 years since he was a struggling associate in his prestigious law firm, Salonga Ordoez
and Associates (which he dissolved upon his election to the Senate presidency in 1987,
pursuant to his strict self-imposed ethical standards). He taught me not only the rudiments of
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the philosophy and practice of the noble profession of law but also the more life-moving virtues
of integrity, prudence, fairness and temperance. That is why the perceptive reader will probably
find some of his words and ideas echoed in this collection. From him I learned that law is not a
mere abstract syllogism that is separate from the social milieu. Indeed, 'experience, not logic,
has been the life of the law.' It should be used as a brick in building the social structure and as a
means of fulfilling the deepest aspirations of the people.
"That we are of different religious faiths he being a devout Protestant, a
respected leader of the Cosmopolitan Church and I, a fledgling Catholic has not adversely
affected at all our three and a half decades of enriching friendship and my own regard and
esteem for him. This is probably because we never discussed what separates us but only what
truly binds us.
"In my professional life as a lawyer, I have been given by him unconsciously, I
am sure the greatest honor I have received so far, not by awarding me a plaque of gold or
conferring on me an honorary degree but by asking me to take over, upon the appointment to
the Supreme Court of his then lawyer, Justice Abraham Sarmiento, as his personal legal counsel
(starting with Kalaw vs. Salonga, et al. which we won in both the Commission on Elections and
the Supreme Court) and as chief legal counsel of the Liberal Party from 1987 to 1991, during
which I had the privilege of lawyering for Rep. Raul Daza (now Speaker Pro-Tempore), Rep.
Lorna Verano-Yap, Rep. Alberto Lopez, Gov. Aguedo Agbayani, Gov. Nesthur Gumana, Vice Gov.
Ramon Duremdes, to mention but some LP stalwarts at the time. (May I hasten to add, lest my
other friends in the House think I neglected them, that I had the honor of serving also as
counsel of some non-LP leaders like Rep. Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Rep. Baby Puyat-Reyes and Rep.
Michael Mastura.) Few, indeed, are favored with the exuberant feeling of being counsel of
one's most esteemed mentor. However, I had to resign from this Liberal Party post upon my
assumption as part-time transition president of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in March 1991 and
as national vice chairman and chief legal counsel of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible
Voting (PPCRV) later that year. Both of these positions required my strict neutrality in partisan
political activities. And since I assumed these posts, I have refrained from accepting and
representing politically focused retainers except that of PPCRV, which anyway is non-partisan,
as already mentioned.
"Typical of his intellectual balance and prudence, Senator Salonga did not resent
my leaving his political community at this most crucial stage in his public career just a year
before he sought the presidency of the Republic in May 1992. If at all, I feel he respected and
fully understood my decision not to work for any particular candidate or political party but to
help only in assuring the peaceful and orderly transfer of power in our then still fragile
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democracy through the holding of free, honest and credible elections at a critical moment in
our country's history."
4. To my recollection, the Court's action has been sought only in certain items chargeable
to the 20% portion of the JDF relating to facilities and equipment; furthermore, to my
recollection also, no approval has been sought or given with regard to the 80% portion reserved
for the cost of living allowances (COLA) of judicial employees.
5. 85 Phil. 553, February 27, 1950, per Bengzon , J .
6. In GR No. 160295.
7. 152 SCRA 284, July 23, 1987, per Melencio-Herrera, J .
8. 166 SCRA 651, Oct. 27, 1988, per Gancayco, J .
9. Ibid, p. 655.
10. 356 SCRA 108, April 3, 2001, per Puno, J .
11. Excluding the Chief Justice who took no part in the instant case.
12. Supra.
13. Art. VIII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, states:
"SECTION 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in
such lower courts as may be established by law.
"Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government."
14. Aquino Jr. v. Enrile, 59 SCRA 183, September 17, 1974; Dela Llana v. Comelec, 80 SCRA
525, December 9, 1977.
15. I Record of the Constitutional Commission 436.
16. In a stunning surprise to its critics, the Rehnquist Court uncharacteristically became
activist in Bush v. Gore (No. 00-949, December 12, 2000) by intervening in the 2000 US
presidential election.
17. 338 Phil. 546, May 2, 1997, per Panganiban, J. See also Tatad v. Secretary of Energy, 281
SCRA 338, November 5, 1997; Guingona v. Gonzales, 219 SCRA 326, March 1, 1993.
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18. 151-A Phil. 35, 134, March 31, 1973.
19. Lazatin v. House Electoral Tribunal, 168 SCRA 391, December 8, 1988; Robles v. HRET ,
181 SCRA 780, February 5, 1990; Co v. Electoral Tribunal, 199 SCRA 692, July 30, 1991; Bondoc
v. Pineda, 201 SCRA 792, September 26, 1991.
20. 83 Phil. 17, March 4, 1949.
21. 359 Phil. 276, November 18, 1998, per Panganiban, J .
22. 180 SCRA 496, December 21, 1989, per Cruz, J .
23. 187 SCRA 377, July 12, 1990, per Grio-Aquino, J .
24. 1, Article III of the Constitution, reads:
"Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws."
25. Bernas, The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary, Vol. I, 1987
ed., p. 47. See also Banco Espaol v. Palanca, 37 Phil. 921, March 26, 1918; Ang Tibay v. Court of
Industrial Relations, 69 Phil. 635, February 27, 1940; Taada v. Tuvera, 230 Phil. 528, December
29, 1986.
26. Santiago v. Guingona, supra.
27. 63 Phil. 139, 158, July 15, 1936, per Laurel, J .
28. "Palace to obey SC ruling on impeachment issue," The Sunday Times, November 9, 2003;
"Barbers: Majority in House favors Gloria's covenant," Malaya, November 9, 2003, p. 3; "Moral
suasion for anti-Davide solons," Manila Standard, November 9, 2003.
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J., concurring and dissenting:
1. Avelino v. Cuenco, 83 Phil 17 (1949); Araneta v. Dinglasan, 84 Phil. 368 (1949); Basco v.
PAGCOR, 197 SCRA 52, May 14, 1991; Kapatiran ng Mga Naglilingkod sa Pamahalaan ng
Pilipinas, Inc. v. Tan, 163 SCRA 371, June 30, 1988; Tatad v. Secretary of the Department of
Energy, 281 SCRA 330, 349 (1997) citing Garcia v. Executive Secretary, 211 SCRA 219 (1992);
Osmea v. COMELEC, 199 SCRA 750 (1991); Chavez v. Presidential Commission on Good
Government, 299 SCRA 744 (1998); Chavez v. PEA-Amari Coastal Bay Development Corporation,
G.R. No. 133250, 9 July 2002.
2. Chavez v. Presidential Commission on Good Government, G.R. No. 130716, December 9,
1998.
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3. Lopez, et al. v. Philippine International Air Terminals, Co., Inc., et al., G.R. No. 155661,
May 5, 2003 citing Association of Small Landowners in the Philippines, Inc. vs. Secretary of
Agrarian Reform, G.R. No. 78742, July 14, 1989; 175 SCRA 343, 364-365 [1989], see also
Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, et al., G.R. No. 141284, August 15, 2000.
4. Estrada v. Arroyo, G.R. No. 146738, 2 March 2001.
5. Concurring opinion of Justice Vitug in the case of Arroyo v. De Venecia, G.R. No. 127255,
14 August 1997.
6. Angara v. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil 139, 158 (1936).
7. Filoteo, Jr. v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 79543, 16 October 1996, 263 SCRA 222, 268.
8. Cebu Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Regional Director/Minster of Labor, G.R. No. L-54285, 8
December 1988, 168 SCRA 315, at 321.
9. Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 1.
10. People v. Verra, G.R. No. 134732, 29 May 2002.
11. Memorandum as Amicus Curiae of Dean Raul C. Pangalangan, p. 19.
12. Position Paper as Amicus Curiae of Former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga, p. 13.
13. Nixon v. U.S., 506 U.S. 224 [1993], 122 l. Ed. 2d 1 (1993).
14. Id.
15. Sinaca v. Mula, G.R. No. 135691, 27 September 1999, 315 SCRA 266, 280.
16. Planas v. Gil, 67 Phil. 62, 73 (1939), cited in Guingona v. Court of Appeals, G.R. 125532,
10 July 1998, 292 SCRA 402.
17. Id.
18. Angara v. Electoral Commission, supra, cited in Guingona v. Court of Appeals, supra.
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J., concurring:
1. 1 Cranch 137 [1803].
2. Cruz, Philippine Political Law, 1989 Ed. at 217.
3. Santiago vs. Guingona, Jr., G.R. No. 134577, November 18, 1998, 298 SCRA 756.
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4. Cruz, Philippine Political Law, 1989 Ed. at 320.
5. Cruz, Philippine Political Law, 1989 Ed. at 314-315.
6. G.R. No. L-71908, February 4,1986, 141 SCRA 263.
"The rules of public deliberative bodies, whether codified in the form of a
'manual' end formally adopted by the body, or whether consisting of a body of unwritten
customs or usages, preserved in memory and by tradition, are matters of which the judicial
courts, as a general rule, take no cognizance. It is a principle of the common law of England that
the judicial courts have no cognizance of what is termed the lex et consuetude parliamenti . . .
And, although this doctrine is not acceded to, in this country, to the extent to which it has gone
in England, where the judicial courts have held that they possess no jurisdiction to judge of the
powers of the House of Parliament, yet no authority is cited to us, and we do not believe that
respectable judicial authority exists, for the proposition that the judicial courts have power to
compel legislative, or quasi-legislative bodies to proceed in the conduct of their deliberations,
or in the exercise of their powers, in accordance with their own rules. If the Congress of the
United States disregards the constitution of the United States, or, if the legislature of one of the
states disregards the constitution of the state, or of the United States, the power resides in the
judicial courts to declare its enactments void. If an inferior quasi legislative body, such as the
council of a municipal corporation, disregards its own organic law, that is, the charter of the
corporations, the judicial courts, for equal, if not for stronger reasons, possess the same power
of annulling its ordinances. But we are not aware of any judicial authority, or of any legal
principle, which will authorize the judicial courts to annul an act of the legislature, or an
ordinance of a municipal council, merely because the one or the other was enacted in disregard
of the rules which the legislature, or the municipal council, or either house thereof, had
prescribed for its own government."
7. Supra.
8. G.R. No. 152295, July 9, 2002, 384 SCRA 269.
9. G.R. No. 127255, August 14, 1997, 277 SCRA 268.
10. Angara vs. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 (1936).
11. Santiago vs. Guingona, Jr., supra.
12. Javellana vs. The Executive Secretary, G.R. No. L-36142, March 31, 1973, 50 SCRA 30.
13. Section 7 of the House Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings.
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14. J.M. Tuazon & Co., Inc. vs. Land Tenure Administration, G.R. No. L-21064, February 18,
1970, 31 SCRA 413.
15. Ordillo vs. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. 93054, December 4, 1990, 192 SCRA 100.
16. Occea vs. Commission on Elections, G.R. No. L-52265, January 28, 1980, 95 SCRA 755.
17. Agpalo, Statutory Construction, 1995 Ed. at 344.
18. At 784.
19. At 943.
20. Section 3(3), Article XI now reads:
"SEC. 3.(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to
initiate all cases of impeachment.
xxx xxx xxx
3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be
necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the
Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The vote of each Members shall be recorded."
21. Records of the Constitutional Commission, July 28, 1986 and July 29, 1986.
22. Nitafan vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, G.R. No. L-78780, July 23, 1987, 152 SCRA
284.
23. 66 Phil. 259 (1938).
24. G.R. No. 160262, Annex "B".
25. Petition in G.R. No. 160295 at 6-7.
26. Id., citing Bugnay Construction vs. Honorable Crispin C. Laron, G.R. No. 79983, August
10, 1989, 176 SCRA 240; Kilosbayan, Inc. vs. Morato, G.R. No. 118910, November 16, 1995, 250
SCRA 130; Joya vs. PCGG, G.R. No. 96541, August 24, 1993, 225 SCRA 568.

27. G.R. No. 133250, July 9, 2002, 384 SCRA 152.
28. G.R. No. 130716, December 9, 1998, 299 SCRA 744.
29. G.R. No. L-63915, April 24, 1985, 136 SCRA 27.
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30. G.R. No. L-72119, May 29, 1987, 150 SCRA 530.
31. G.R. No. 83551, July 11, 1989, 175 SCRA 264.
32. G.R. Nos. 124360 & 127867, November 5, 1997, 281 SCRA 330.
CORONA, J.:
1. According to Section 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, the impeachable officers are
the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the
Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman.
2. Antonio Tupas and Edcel Tupas, FUNDAMENTALS ON IMPEACHMENT, 2001 ed., Quezon
City, p. 6 [2001].
3. Joaquin Bernas, COMMENTARIES ON THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES,
Quezon City, p. pp. 11091110 [2003].
4. Supra, Note 2, p. 7.
5. Ibid., p. 12.
6. Supra, Note 3, p. 1113.
7. Cruz, PHILIPPINE POLITICAL LAW, 1996 ed., p. 12.
8. Angara vs. Electoral Commission, 63 Phil. 139 [1936].
9. Evardone vs. Comelec, 204 SCRA, 464 [1991].
10. 201 SCRA 792 [1991].
11. Coseteng vs. Mitra, 187 SCRA 377, 378 [1990].
12. Valmonte vs. Belmonte, Jr., 170 SCRA 256 [1989].
13. 1 Cranch 137 [1803].
14. WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST, The Supreme Court, New York, p. 34 [2001], quoting Marbury
vs. Madison.
15. 208 SCRA 254 [1992], citing Endencia and Jugo vs. David, 93 Phil. 699.
16. 227 SCRA 703 [1993].
17. Perfecto vs. Meer, 85 Phil. 552 [1950].
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18. Bengzon vs. Drilon, 208 SCRA 133 [1992].
19. Article XI, Section 3, 1987 Philippine Constitution.
20. Dated June 2, 2003 and October 23, 2003.
21. 66 Phil. 259 [11938].
22. 50 Am Jur. 200.
23. Luz vs. Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, 192 SCRA 51 [1990].
24. now Justice of the Court of Appeals.
25. Bondoc vs. Pineda, 201 SCRA 792 [1991].
26. supra.
27. Article VI, Section 29 (1), 1987 Constitution.
28. Bernas, THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES: A
COMMENTARY, 722 [1996].
29. Article IX, Section 3, 1987 Constitution.
30. Bernas, THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION A REVIEWER-PRIMER [2003], 455.
31. 208 SCRA 133 [1992].
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
1. Aside from this petition, (G.R. No. 160261) several other petitions were filed against the
same respondents docketed as G.R. No. 160262, G.R. No. 160263, G.R. No. 160277, G.R. No.
160292, G.R. No. 160295, G.R. No. 160310, G.R. No. 160318, G.R. No. 160342, G.R. No. 160343,
G.R. No. 160360, G.R. No. 160365, G.R. No. 160370, G.R. No. 160376, G.R. No. 160392, G.R. No.
160397, G.R. No. 160403 and G.R. No. 160405.
2. 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
3. Idonah Slade Perkins v. Mamerto Roxas, et al., 72 Phil. 514 (1941).
4. Vesagas v. Court of Appeals, et al., 371 SCRA 508 (2001).
5. 353 SCRA 452 (2001).
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6. Santiago v. Guingona, Jr., 298 SCRA 756 (1998); Pacete v. The Secretary of Commission
on Appointments, 40 SCRA 67 (1971).
7. Prowell v. McCormuck, 23 L. ed. 2d. 491.
8. Supra.
9. 286 U.S. 6 (1932).
10. 356 SCRA 636 (2001).
11. 338 SCRA 81.
12. Supra.
13. 281 SCRA 330, (1997), citing Taada v. Angara, 272 SCRA 18 (1997).
14. Mapa v. Arroyo, 175 SCRA 76 (1989).
15. 215 SCRA 489 (1992).
16. 180 SCRA 496 (1989).
17. Walter Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
18. Black's Law Dictionary, 7th ed., p. 1221.
19. Webster's Third New International Dictionary.
20. T.S.N., pp. 24-28 (Regalado). Emphasis supplied.
TINGA, J.:
1. See Aquino, Jr. v. Enrile, G.R. No. L-35546, September 17, 1974, 59 SCRA 183; Aquino, Jr.
v. Comelec, G.R. No. L-4004, 31 January 1975, 62 SCRA 275; Aquino, Jr. v. Military Commission
No. 2, G.R. No. 37364, May 9, 1975, 63 SCRA, 546 (1975).
2. See Javellana v. Executive Secretary, 151-A Phil. 35 (1973); Occea v. Comelec, 191 Phil.
371 (1981); Mitra, Jr. v. Comelec, 191 Phil. 412 (1981).
3. See Marcos v. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989, 177 SCRA 668.
4. See Palma, Sr. v. Fortich, G.R. No. L-59679, January 29, 1987, 147 SCRA 397.
5. See De Leon v. Esguerra, G.R. No. L-78059, August 31, 1987, 153 SCRA 602.
6. See Enrile v. Salazar, G.R. No. 92163, June 5, 1990, 186 SCRA 217.
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7. See Estrada v. Desierto, G.R. Nos. 146710-15, March 2, 2001, 353 SCRA 452.
8. See Note 7.
9. The other four are Justices Bellosillo, Puno, Vitug, Panganiban and Quisumbing. Also
included in the complaint are Justices Carpio and Corona.
10. Justices Carpio and Corona.
11. Article XI, Section 3 (1), 1987 Constitution.
12. Article XI, Section 3 (6), 1987 Constitution.
13. Article IX, Section 2, 1935 Constitution, as amended.
14. Article IX, Section 3, 1935 Constitution, as amended.
15. The United States Constitution contains just two provisions pertaining to the power of
the Congress to impeach and to try impeachment. "The House of Representatives . . . shall have
the sole Power of Impeachment." (Article I, Section 2, par. 5, US Constitution); "The Senate shall
have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on
Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside; And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the
Members present." (Article I, Section 3, par. 6). The class of officers subject to impeachment
and the grounds for removal from office by impeachment are prescribed in Article II, Section 4
of the United States Constitution. "The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the
United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."
16. Sec. 3, Art. XII, 1973 Constitution. "The Batasang Pambansa shall have the exclusive
power to initiate, try, and decide all cases of impeachment. Upon the filing of a verified
complaint, the Batasang Pambansa may initiate impeachment by a vote of at least one-fifth of
all its Members. No official shall be convicted without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of
all the Members thereof. When the Batasang Pambansa sits in impeachment cases, its
Members shall be on oath or affirmation."
17. See Sec. 3 (1), Article XI, 1987 Constitution.
18. See Sec. 3 (2), Article XI, 1987 Constitution.
19. See Sec. 3 (2), Article XI, 1987 Constitution.
20. See Sec. 3 (5), Article XI, 1987 Constitution.
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21. See Romulo v. Yiguez, 225 Phil. 221 (1986).
22. Daza v. Singson, G.R. No. 86344, December 21, 1989, 180 SCRA 496.
23. Bondoc v. Pineda, G.R. No. 97710, September 26, 1991, 201 SCRA 792, 795-796.
24. Arroyo v. De Venecia, August 14, 1997, 277 SCRA 311.
25. 63 Phil. 139 (1936).
26. Arroyo v. House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, 316 Phil. 464 at 508-510 (1995), J.
Puno, concurring.
27. "A controversy in which a present and fixed claim of right is asserted against one who
has an interest in contesting it; rights must be declared upon existing state of facts and not
upon state of facts that may or may not arise in future." See Black's Law Dictionary, 865.
28. Daza v. Singson, supra note 33. See also Taada v. Cuenco, 100 Phil. 101 (1975). "A
question is political, and not judicial, is that it is a matter which is to be exercised by the people
in their primary political capacity, or that it has been specifically delegated to some other
department or particular officer of the government, with discretionary power to act."
29. IBP v. Zamora, G.R. No. 141284, August 15, 2003, 338 SCRA 81.
30. 346 Phil. 321 (1997).
31. Ibid. at 358.
32. While Congress is granted the authority to promulgate its rules on impeachment, such
rules must effectively carry out the purpose of Section 3 of Article XI. See Section 3 (8), Article
XI, 1987 Constitution.
33. A political question refers to a question of policy or to issues which, under the
Constitution, are to be decided by the people in their sovereign capacity, or in regard to which
full discretionary authority has been delegated to the legislative or executive branch of the
government. Generally, political questions are concerned with issues dependent upon the
wisdom, not the legality, of a particular measure. Taada v. Cuenco, 100 Phil. 101 [ 1957], as
cited in Tatad v. Secretary of Finance, 346 Phil. 321.
34. Resolution dated September 3, 1985, p. 2, G.R. No. 71688 (De Castro, et al. v.
Committee on Justice, et al.)
35. 103 Phil. 1051 (1957).
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36. Id. at 1088.
37. 129 Phil. 7 (1967).
38. G.R. No. L-44640, October 12, 1976, 73 SCRA 333.
39. Id. at 359-361.
40. Id. at 359-361.
41. 506 U.S. 224 (1993).
42. Chemirinsky, Constitutional Law Principles and Policies, 2nd Ed. (2002); Aspen Law and
Business, New York, U.S.A.
43. Supra, note 33.
44. Garcia v. Corona, 378 Phil. 848, 885. J . Quisumbing, concurring (1999).
45. See, e.g., Mirasol v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 128448, February 1, 2001, 351 SCRA 44,
53-54; Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Zamora, G.R. No. 141284, August 15, 2000, 338 SCRA
81, 99; Sec. Guingona, Jr. v. Court of Appeals, 354 Phil. 415, 425 (1998); Board of Optometry v.
Hon. Colet, 328 Phil. 1187, 1205 (1996); Joya v. PCGG, G.R. No. 96541, August 24, 1993, 255
SCRA 568, 575; Santos III v. Northwest Orient Airlines, G.R. No. 101538, June 23, 1992, 210
SCRA 256; Garcia v. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 100883, December 2, 1991, 204 SCRA 516,
522; Luz Farms v. Secretary of DAR, G.R. No. 86889, December 4, 1990, 192 SCRA 51, 58;
National Economic Protectionism Association v. Ongpin, G.R. No. 67752, April 10, 1989, 171
SCRA 657, 663-664.
46. Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzales and Congressman Salacnib Baterina.
47. G.R. No. 113105, August 19, 1994, 235 SCRA 506.
48. Id. at 520.
49. 346 U.S. 249 (1953).
50. This case and rationale was cited by amicus curiae Dean Raul C. Pangalangan during the
hearing on these petitions to support his belief that the petitioners had standing to bring suit in
this case.
51. In reference to the famed pronouncement of Justice Holmes that the great ordinances
of the Constitution do not establish and divide fields of "black and white" but also because
"even the more specific of them are found to terminate in a penumbra shading gradually from
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one extreme to the other." Springer v. Government, 277 U. S., 189 (1928). Since the power of
the legislature to impeach and try impeachment cases is not inherent, the Holmesian dictum
will find no application in this case, because such authority is of limited constitutional grant,
and cannot be presumed to expand beyond what is laid down in the Constitution.
52. Section 3 (6), Article XI.
53. Abbot v. Mapayo, G.R. No. 134102, 6 July 2000, 335 SCRA 265, 270.
54. Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure by Paul Mason, 1953 Edition p. 113 citing
Jefferson, Sec. XXXV; Reed, Sec. 224; Cushing's Legislative Assemblies, Sec. 739. Op. Cit. 536-
537 citing Jefferson, Sec. XVII, Hughes, Sec. 694.
55. "Impeachment Trial or Resignation? Where do we stand? What must we do?" (An
updated Position Paper of Kilosbayan, Bantay Katarungan and Bantayog ng mga Bayani
Foundations). http://www.mydestiny.net/~livewire/kilosbayan/paper6.htm.
56. "GMA Won't Lift A Finger To Bail Out Nani." See
http://www.newsflash.org/2002/11/pe/pe002423.htm.
57. Resolution of the Senate dated November 29, 2000.
58. 85 Phil. 552 (1950).
59. Id. at 553.
60. 93 Phil 696 (1953).
61. Id. at 700.
62. 86 Phil. 429 (1950).
63. Id. at 437-438.
64. Supra note 38.