Christian Monsod: SC under Arroyo is like a Marcos court

The Supreme Court under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration is reminiscent of a subservient high tribunal under the Marcos dictatorship. Former Commission on Elections chair Christian Monsod made this remark on Thursday, expressing concern over the court’s independence after it allowed Mrs. Arroyo to appoint Chief Justice Reynato Puno’s successor despite a supposed constitutional ban on midnight appointments. [see: Supreme Court allows Arroyo to appoint next chief justice] “I was disappointed. I said, ‘This looks like a Marcos court, and now it’s an Arroyo court.’ They seem to be especially accommodating the wishes of the president. [Its] reputation and image has suffered a great deal," Monsod, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, told radio dzBB. The Supreme Court under Marcos regime was criticized for allowing the late dictator to issue decrees that curtail democracy, such as Proclamation No. 1081 or the oppressive martial law imposed from 1972 to 1981. Only the late Associate Justices Claudio Teehankee Sr. and Cecilia Muñoz-Palma were known to express opposition in the supposedly Marcos rubber-stamp court. “The days of the Marcos regime may have been the darkest in Philippine history. They were also the days when Mr. Teehankee's courage shone the brightest," read an Ateneo de Manila University citation on Teehankee, who died in 1989. Palma on the other hand was quoted as saying in a decision that martial law “was accomplished under an atmosphere or climate of fear." After a mass uprising toppled the Marcos rule in February 1986, Teehankee administered Aquino’s oath as the new Philippine president. He was appointed chief justice two months later. Shortly after she rose to power, Aquino also established the 1986 Constitutional Commission to draft a new constitution. Palma headed the commission. She died in 2006. Appointment ban covers all govt branches Section 15 Article VII of the 1987 Constitution prohibits the incumbent president from making appointments two months before an election and until his or her term expires. Applied this year, the election ban started on March 10 and will last until the end of President Arroyo’s term on June 30. Puno will hang his robes on May 17, or seven days after the May 10 polls. It is the first time that the retirement of the chief justice falls on the period covered by Section 15, Article VII. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court invoked Article VIII of the Constitution, which applies to the judiciary and does not mention any ban on appointments during the election period. The court also said the restricted period mentioned in Section 15, Article VII only applies to appointees in the executive branch on the government. But Monsod on Thursday said that when they drafted the Constitution, Section 15, Article VII was a blanket appointments ban covering all branches of government, not just the executive. The court’s decision was opposed by many, asserting that the court’s independence was at stake. Fourteen of the 15-member court are Arroyo appointees. Puno was appointed by former President Fidel Ramos in 1993. In the radio interview, Monsod told the court that “it should vindicate itself" should there be a time that it should decide on a case involving President Arroyo and her administration hounded by several allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also asked Mrs. Arroyo to respect the Constitution. "The SC may have decided but the final call will be with Mrs. Arroyo, whether she appoints or not. The right decision would be for her not to use and abuse the power to appoint. She should grow a conscience and spare the people further suffering and anxiety," Bayan said in a statement. Tagbilaran, Bohol Bishop Leonardo Medroso and Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. urged the people to remain vigilant and pray that the successor of Puno, who is retiring on May 17, will be selected based on competence. “(I hope) that influence and debt of gratitude will not be some considerations in appointing the next Chief Justice," Medroso said in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. Another framer of the constitution, legal luminary, and Ateneo School of Law Dean Emeritus Fr. Joaquin Bernas, had earlier opposed Mrs. Arroyo’s imminent appointment of a chief justice. Bernas said that drafters of the present Charter used as their inspiration a situation in 1962 where former President Carlos P. Garcia appointed at least 300 people in the government a short period before he left office. This left his successor Diosdado Macapagal, the father of President Arroyo, powerless from installing his own key officials. - LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV