Belmonte to remind SC of House mandate on impeachment

The House of Representatives will not be confrontational, but it will insist that the Supreme Court is infringing on its mandate to hear the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Thursday. Asked during his weekly press conference if the Lower House is inclined to respond to the order of the High Tribunal and remind it of the lower chamber’s mandate as defined in the Constitution, Belmonte answered in positive. “I would say, [it's] better to respond. At least make your position clear to them as well. I think it is more judicious to file a reply and say, ‘We protest the fact that you are intruding into our territory’," he said. “The moment you close the door, e di wala na, maghihintay na lang tayo (then that’s it, we will just wait). So this is good – good for the jurisprudence, good for people, good for everybody," he added.
Belmonte said the chamber should be allowed to perform its mandate under Article 11, Section 3 (2) of the Constitution, which requires the Committee on Justice to submit its report on the impeachment proceedings within 60 session days from the referral of the complaint. The House leaders, however, were yet to make a final decision on sending a reply, as they have yet to receive a copy of the SC order. Avoiding ‘being cited for contempt’ Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., chairman of the justice committee hearing the complaints, earlier said the chamber should not respond to the order. However, the Speaker believed his two colleagues, who are also his party-mates in the Liberal Party, were aware that “it is not my idea to have a confrontation on this." Belmonte however said he was happy that the issue is being discussed by the members of the House and even by outsiders. “It is very enriching for us here and for the Court. It is good we are getting a chance to look at the issues and circumstances in a less passionate way," he said. Belmonte added he has no intention of being cited in contempt by the SC. “Some of the guys here might want to be cited for contempt [but] I’m not one of them," he said. Belmonte has asked the House legal department to study the issue so they will be prepared once the chamber’s leadership decides to send a reply. On the other hand, House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said the SC should act on the Gutierrez case with dispatch. “If the SC can act with dispatch within 24 hours on this petition by the Ombudsman, then [our hope] is they will be able to finish with their decision before September 28, because the longer it takes the SC to have a ruling on this, it will ripen to speculation that they are only out to protect an impeachable officer whose public accountability can only be done through an impeachment proceeding," Gonzales told reporters in an interview Wednesday evening. The House majority leader said he agrees with the plan of Tañada and Tupas to proceed with the justice committee hearing, which is set to resume on September 28 and 29. ‘Ripening a fruit that is yet unripe’ “We’ll not allow … the House to violate its constitutional mandate, for the committee to violate its constitutional mandate of submitting its report within 60 session days. To stop the proceedings will be worse than the SC [decision]. [It would be like we became] part and parcel of violating the Constitutional provision," he added. Gonzales believed the SC decision was premature because, first, it was only dealing with the committee and not the plenary, and second, also in the sense that the committee has not yet recommended a course of action. “The committee cannot have the final decision on the matter," Gonzales said, because whatever its decision will still have to be approved by the plenary. “So hindi talaga pwede, premature talaga (So it really doesn’t apply, it’s really premature)." “Actually, in the judicial parlance, it’s not yet ripe for judicial adjudication," Gonzales added. “But unfortunately, the SC in this particular case eh parang gumamit ng kalburo na pilit na hininog iyong prutas na hindi pa naman hinog (acted like someone who used calcium carbide to force the ripening of a fruit that is yet unripe)," Gonzales said.—JV, GMANews.TV