Jinggoy lashes at Davide’s past, new post as truth body chief

Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy" Estrada came out with all guns blazing against former Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide Jr., labeling the retired jurist as an "opportunistic politician" who should not have been appointed to the Truth Commission. "This man's very presence in the Truth Commission is a mistake that this present administration and our nation cannot afford," Estrada said during his privilege speech at the Senate on Tuesday. A contradiction? Estrada pointed out the "irony" of appointing Davide to a body that would probe the anomalies during the term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose assumption to the presidency was blessed by the retired chief justice himself. "How can the very person who sealed the conspiracy to place Arroyo in power be the head of the body that will investigate her?" Estrada said. The young Estrada said that Davide "betrayed" his oath when he administered the oath of then Vice President Arroyo in 2001 as the replacement of then President Joseph “Erap" Estrada in the midst of the EDSA 2 People Power uprising. "When he swore in (Arroyo), there was no vacancy," Estrada said, reiterating the oft-stated position of his ousted father that the presidency was illegally seized from his hands. The young Estrada even alleged that the oath-taking was the "brainchild" of Davide himself, as supposedly revealed later by Mrs. Arroyo. Questionable integrity? Estrada also accused Davide of abusing the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF), a multi-billion peso fund derived from the collection of legal fees paid to the courts. He claimed that Davide underpaid court employees and instead used the JDF for "questionable purchases" like luxury cars and hundred-thousand-peso chairs. He specifically cited the years 2000-2002, when the total JDF collections reached P5.4 billion. Under the law, 80 percent or P4.3 billion should have been disbursed for the court employees but only P3.49 billion was supposedly released. He said Davide was involved in cases of questionable expenses such as curtains, draperies, chairs and other furnishings for the newly renovated SC session hall, construction and renovation of SC cottages in Baguio City, the SC multi-purpose hall, and purchase of motor vehicles. What's more, the senator claimed that Davide's son Joseph Bryan Hilary was the one who requested the funding for all of the said projects as vice chairman of the bids and awards committee, while his daughter Norene Davide-Salas was the chairman of the SC uniform committee. "If that does not qualify as imprudence, I don't know what will. This is (also) a clear case of nepotism which is prohibited by no less than three identical provisions of civil service laws," said Estrada. More to come? Promising to expose more anomalies linked to Davide, Estrada said that it is time to reconsider the merits of the old impeachment case against the former chief justice because it was supposedly dismissed by "mere technicality." A move to impeach Davide was initiated at the Lower House in November 2003, but did not reach the stage of actual trial at the Senate when the SC questioned the legality of the move. "Davide used all of his powers as head of the Supreme Court to stop the transmittal of the impeachment complaint to the Senate. It was never heard on merits," Estrada said, adding that Davide was the only chief justice in the history of the SC who was voted for impeachment by more than one third of the Lower House. The Palace has long defended Davide from the tirades of the Estrada camp, both from former President Estrada who had previously hurled similar accusations against the former SC chief, and from his son who is now Senate President Pro Tempore. President Aquino, in defending his decision to appoint Davide to head the Truth Commission, had earlier said he believed in the former SC chief’s wisdom. GMANews.TV tried to get Davide’s reaction, but calls to his mobile phone remained unanswered.—JV, GMANews.TV