Congress heads agree House should follow SC order on impeach case

The leaders of both chambers of Congress on Wednesday said the House of Representatives should abide by the Supreme Court order suspending the impeachment proceedings against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte agreed that the House should allow the High Tribunal to study the matter. "That is normal in any court. If they are presented with complex issues they want [to have] time to study the problem. It does not necessarily mean that they have made up their minds, it's simply that they want more time to consider the issues involved and so they will tell the parties ‘wait a minute, stay put, give us time to study’," Enrile told reporters after attending an event at the House. Enrile said he believes the SC did not interfere with the powers of Congress as "we are all governed by the Constitution and the one that interprets the Constitution is the Supreme Court." "We have to understand the workings of our government, of our constitutional system. Nobody is above the other. There's a very delicate and elaborate system of checks and balances so when the SC says we are issuing a TRO ordering you to maintain the status quo, they want to exercise a rational judgment to serve the interest not only of the litigants but of the country," he said. For his part, Belmonte said he does not want to be on the warpath with the SC on the issue. "At this stage, I want to look at this situation as a clarification of what the situation actually is, what are the real facts in the House. We have not yet reached the point wherein there is a real confrontation between them and us and I say as the leader of this House that, yes, let’s give this system, our coordination between government departments, a chance," he said. "Huwag ‘yung nakaumang ka kaagad para lumaban (We shouldn’t be in a war mode too soon). There’s plenty of time for that if ever it becomes necessary. It’s too premature to be quarrelling over anything, people just want to know what is going on, let’s give them the chance," Belmonte said. He believed it is not yet time for him to act because the scheduled hearings on September 28 and 29 are still 10 days away, adding that the issue might be resolved before the hearing. Push through with proceedings But Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the House justice committee hearing the impeachment complaints, remained bullheaded on pushing through with the proceedings. Tupas insisted his committee will only decide to suspend the hearings if Belmonte would tell him so, categorically. Also, he said he would suggest that Belmonte remind the SC the House's exclusive power to impeach government officials, when the Speaker gives a reply to the High Tribunal’s order. "I would suggest to Speaker that we limit our answers in reminding them (SC justices) that we have the constitutional mandate to hear impeachment proceedings instead of presenting arguments which is tantamount to submitting to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court order," Tupas said. He added: “We will not abdicate our constitutional duty to try impeachment cases." Tupas is set to meet with the members of the House legal department on the actions to be taken. In a statement Tuesday evening, Belmonte just said that they will abide by the order of the SC. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV