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Retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide on Judiciary Calvaries

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islander:

It's not just about the lynching of Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno.

The independence of the Philippine judiciary is under attack. With it comes the chilling prospect of the "destruction of our beloved Philippines."

Strong language, yes.

It was the first time retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. took the stage with the embattled Sereno in a packed hall of college-high school students and basic sector groups in UP Cebu last April 5.

Davide’s full speech here describes the struggle of "Two Calvaries". One is the attack on judicial independence. The second is Charter Change seeking to install Federalism.


(Retired) Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr.

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islander:

THE CALVARIES OF THE PHILIPPINE JUDICIARY TODAY: JUDICIAL REFORMS?

Madame Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P.A. Sereno, Dean Mende, Participants in this forum, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to Cebu our dear Chief Justice, the home of Lapu-Lapu, the first Filipino hero to repulse a foreign invader and who would even be the first to shout “over my dead body” if the Philippines would be made a province of China. It was the President himself who mentioned this lowly status of the Philippines before a group of Chinese businessmen last February 19. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in an attempt to cushion the horrible negative impact of the pronouncement said that it was only a joke of the President. Knowing China, it will not consider it a joke. Chinese leaders are not known to be jokers.

Madame Chief Justice, with the descendants of Lapu-Lapu, you are safe here in Cebu.

I must congratulate the College of Social Sciences of UP Cebu, the Movement Against Tyranny (MAT), All UP Academic Employees Union of the UP Cebu, Cebu for Human Rights (C4HR), KARAPATAN Visayas, and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL-Cebu) for organizing a series of public forums entitled, “Signs of the Time,” and for choosing for this afternoon’s segment the topic “Road to Judicial Reforms.”

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islander:

As concerned groups with indomitable courage to be deeply involved in and to fight for great causes that would affect our country and our people of this our beleaguered generation and of those yet unborn, you organizers cannot just idly stand by. There are indeed “signs of the time” that indicate something worse for the country and our people, but all camouflaged with “good intentions.”

Yes, signs of the time. Indeed, in this our time, which could even be short – there are many signs. This brings us to a recollection of what Jesus said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who demanded from Him a sign. In the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 16, verses 1-4, Jesus said: “In the evening you say, ‘Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red;’ and in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times. An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” And in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 11, verse 30, the sign of Jonah is the sign to the Ninevites (of Nineveh) of the forthcoming destruction of Nineveh.

You are correct: there are signs of the time. The real sign may yet be the sign of Jonah. By your forum series you can ultimately send the message of the sign of Jonah – destruction of our beloved Philippines.

What are these gloomy signs which would finally end with that of Jonah – the destruction of our country?

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islander:

The first is the current war against the Philippine Judiciary. I call this the First Calvary of the Judiciary.

The second is composed of many which can be put together and labeled Charter Change. I call this the Second Calvary of the Judiciary.

I will dwell on the first because the intensified war against or attacks on the independence of the Judiciary threaten the institution itself as the guardian of the Constitution, the protector of the rights and freedoms of the people, the last bulwark of democracy and the sentinel of the rule of law.

This saddens me to the core of my heart because I spent fifteen years of my life in the service of the Judiciary, seven of which as Chief Justice. As such, I started my difficult task of leading the Philippine Judiciary with a vision-mission: a judiciary that is independent, effective and efficient; that delivers fair, impartial, equal and swift justice; one that adheres to and preserves the core values of the rule of law and pursuit of excellence; and one that safeguards the public trust and confidence in it at all times. In pursuit thereof, early in my watch, the Supreme Court promulgated the Action Program for Judicial Reform (APJR), which was the most comprehensive package of judicial reforms for the Philippine Judiciary, and the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank considered it as a model even for the other judiciaries of the world. The then Professor of Law, Ma. Lourdes P.A. Sereno, now our Chief Justice, contributed much to the APJR as consultant for some very substantive and significant aspects of judicial reforms.

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islander:

This First Calvary of our present Judiciary appears to have started when our Chief Justice asserted her defense of its independence when the executive department tried to interfere in the matter of disciplining judges, and when she praised the Constitution for its focus on human rights and for ensuring and preserving judicial independence in her statement for the thirtieth anniversary of the ratification of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines last 2 February 2017.

On that occasion, she solemnly said:

“More than simply a statement of principles and a collection of hopes and aspirations, the 1987 Constitution formed the backbone for the democracy ushered in by the force of the People Power Revolution of 1986. Ending the revolutionary government put in place then President Corazon C. Aquino’s Proclamation No. 3, the 1987 Constitution also provided rich and fertile ground for the rule of law to be nourished, to grow and to bear fruit. This it did with the renewed focus on human rights and civil liberties and enshrined sovereignty and institutional protection for the independence of the Judiciary.”

Added to these were her subsequent judicial pronouncements which were misunderstood as anti-administration. She paid a high price for these.

She now faces impeachment, which took a long process in the Lower House where even sitting Justices of the Court were invited to testify on matters basically administrative and within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court.

Never has there been in the history of our Republic a spectacle such as this.*

*underscoring, and all subsequent underscoring, mine. - islander

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