Author Topic: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?  (Read 1581 times)

islander

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The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« on: August 26, 2015, 02:48:07 AM »

EDITORIAL

Solid reputation?

Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 26th, 2015

According to the Supreme Court’s majority decision in Enrile vs. Sandiganbayan, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile should be granted bail—for the nonbailable charge of plunder—because, well, he has much to lose if his plea was denied. “With his solid reputation in both his public and his private lives, his long years of public service, and history’s judgment of him being at stake, he should be granted bail,” wrote Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin.

What on earth is a reasonable public to make of that statement?

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2015, 02:48:59 AM »

Enrile has a “solid reputation in both his public and private lives”? Let’s see. The state of his marriage has been discussed and made public by no less than his former wife, Cristina Castañer Enrile, who revealed on television the serial infidelities she had suffered in her years with Enrile—some 38 instances spread over 56 years. Not only that; she confirmed the widespread rumor that her husband and his erstwhile chief of staff, Gigi Reyes—now Enrile’s coaccused in the plunder case—did have an affair, that “it lasted too long” compared to the others, and that it was what pushed her to leave for the United States so she could seek divorce.

Enrile’s private life, of course, even for a politician as powerful and enduring as he is, should ordinarily be of no concern to the public—but for the fact that, in this case, his long-time confidant Reyes would emerge, from accounts of whistle-blowers in the pork barrel scam, as the alleged principal conduit for at least P172 million in kickbacks from Enrile’s Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation from 2004 to 2010. That reported affair became imbued with public interest the moment public funds were involved. As this newspaper reported last Monday: “Documents from the Commission on Audit that formed part of the evidence submitted by the NBI against Enrile showed that he admitted that it was his signature that appeared in the documents, which authorized Reyes to conduct transactions involving his PDAF allocations on his behalf.”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2015, 02:50:12 AM »

Enrile’s public life is even more problematic: the architect of martial law, a principal accused in coup attempts against the government of then-president Corazon Aquino, the alleged beneficiary of documented dagdag-bawas operations in the 1995 elections that sent him to the Senate at the expense of Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and now the most high-profile of the raft of government officials accused of plunder, graft and related cases in the pork barrel scam.

This is not the kind of record any man would claim as immaculate and unblemished, and Enrile himself has never done so. Not in the campaign advertisements he has done over the years, in which he never raised his virtuousness or his clean public record as his qualification for office, instead confining his appeal to gut issues and cheery bromides (“Gusto ko, happy kayo!”). Neither did he use a “solid reputation in both his public and private lives” as an argument in his plea for bail. But, as with the humanitarian argument of old age that Enrile himself did not raise, but which Bersamin plucked out of thin air to employ as a fuzzy justification for the petitioner’s release, the matter of Enrile’s “reputation” suddenly became central to his case—apparently all at the sole instigation of the author of the ponencia.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2015, 02:51:30 AM »

This is the heart of the public scorn that has met the Supreme Court’s decision allowing Enrile to post bail—that, as we said in this space last Monday, the eight-person majority who voted in favor of Enrile “had to twist this way and that to rationalize its decision.” The apparent partiality of the ruling, its nature as a “special accommodation”—as Associate Justice Marvic Leonen described it in a blistering dissent—does the Supreme Court’s reputation no favors.

Just when the high court has made strides in recovering public standing with its widely hailed decisions striking down the Disbursement Acceleration Program and PDAF and upholding the Reproductive Health Bill, its ruling on Enrile is an unfortunate throwback to its muddled period of contorted, questionable decisions in the Arroyo years, when the Constitution’s express prohibition on midnight appointments, for instance, could be set aside by the justices—or read in the most creative manner—to favor the irregular appointment of one of their own.

One step forward, two steps back. And since it is the Supreme Court’s own solid reputation at stake, we feel the disappointment all the more keenly.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2015, 06:06:02 PM »

Get Real

How SC decision on Enrile bail came about


Solita Collas-Monsod
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 22nd, 2015

I got to see Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile up close and personal yesterday morning at his residence. For only a short while, mind you, but it helps that he lives right across the street from our house, and so one can dispense with formalities, and ask to be called when he had time for a chat.

The good news (it depends on where you sit) is that he looked hale and hearty. Of course I know he has ailments—macular degeneration, for one, and the usual age-related “conditions” (heart, diabetes, etc.)—but he looked better than I do, and he has 18 years on me. He definitely looks much better than he did when he was presiding over the Corona impeachment trial.

And he is also raring to go. With relatively little time left (he is 92, after all), although he may surprise us yet, he is committed to serve God and country, and to hell with everything else. His position seems to be that he owes nothing to no one and is afraid of no one. So be prepared.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2015, 06:06:39 PM »

But this column is not really about Enrile, but about the Supreme Court decision that granted him bail, overturning a Sandiganbayan decision. What is incomprehensible about the Supreme Court decision is that the reason for granting Enrile his request was not based on the legal arguments that he offered but, rather, on humanitarian, age-related health grounds, which he didn’t even ask for (so sure was he of the strength of his legal arguments).

The high court, in an excess of solicitude, may have forgotten that the Sandiganbayan gave standing orders authorizing that Enrile be taken to any hospital immediately if he exhibits symptoms that cannot be treated at the PNP General Hospital. So there was nothing to worry about, health-wise.

Reader, go to the Supreme Court’s website (www.sc.judiciary.gov.ph), read the majority decision (16 pages), and then read the dissenting opinion of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen (29 pages). I think you will agree with me that Leonen’s dissent had much more substance in it, and was certainly better argued, than the majority opinion. That his dissent was supported by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio seems to validate my opinion. Those three have competence and integrity in spades. In fact, I got the feeling, when reading the majority opinion, that they first wanted to make sure that Enrile got bail, and then they mustered all the arguments they could, to support that decision.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2015, 06:07:57 PM »

Don’t misunderstand, Reader. I thought Enrile should be granted bail, because the evidence against him was not strong (I had read the case files), and his age certainly did not contribute to the risk of his fleeing. Worse, he had been in custody for over a year now. Does it take that long to determine whether the evidence against him is weak or strong? If so, why? After all, we’re not talking about a person’s guilt or innocence. For that, we need a trial, which can take years.

What is interesting about the Supreme Court decision is how it came about. This is related by Leonen in his dissent. In case you can’t spare the time to read, let me give you a condensed version:

    A draft decision was submitted by the member in charge early this year. This draft mainly adopted Enrile’s legal arguments. Leonen and Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe submitted their reflections on this issue, and refutations and arguments were exchanged in writing. Their point was that the Sandiganbayan committed no grave abuse of discretion, and Enrile’s petition should be dismissed.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

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islander

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2015, 06:09:04 PM »

    “When this case was called again for deliberation during the En Banc session on Aug. 11, 2015, the member in charge (now the ponente) proposed the idea of dropping all discussion on the legal points pertaining to whether bail was a matter of right and focusing the grant of bail on ‘humanitarian’ grounds. The member in charge committed to circulate a draft for the consideration of all justices.” And Leonen averred that he was open to listen to all arguments.

    A revised draft was circulated on Aug. 14, based on granting bail to Enrile based on his medical condition. Leonen responded with a letter to the justices, stating that this new proposal gave rise to certain new issues which had to be threshed out thoroughly.

    During the Aug. 18 en banc, the ponente would not agree to wait for more extensive written reflections on the points raised by Leonen. “Insisting on a vote, he thus declared that he was abandoning the Aug. 14, 2015 circulated draft centering on release on bail on humanitarian grounds for his earlier version premised on the idea that bail was a matter of right based on judicial notice and the judicial declaration of the existence of two mitigating circumstances.” (The vote was 8-4.)

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

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Re: The Philippine Supreme Court in the dock?
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2015, 06:09:29 PM »

    On the afternoon of Aug. 18, at about 3 p.m., “the ponente passed around a final copy of the majority opinion which was not the version voted upon during the morning’s deliberation. Rather, the copy offered for signature was substantially the Aug. 14, 2015 circulated version granting bail on humanitarian grounds.”

    This ponencia does away with Enrile’s entire argument thusly: “Yet, we do not now determine the question of whether or not Enrile’s averment on the presence of the two mitigating circumstances could entitle him to bail despite the crime alleged against him being punishable with reclusion perpetua, simply because the determination, being primarily factual in context, is ideally to be made by the trial court.”

I do not doubt Leonen’s version. And the way this whole issue was handled reminds me of how the Supreme Court under Renato Corona handled the GMA travel issue. Forcing through. What kind of decision-making is this?

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=80819.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

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