SC justices can be impeached for flip-flop in PAL case – solon

The Supreme Court’s decision to recall its final ruling on the case filed by a group of flight attendants against flag carrier Philippine Airlines can be grounds for the justices' impeachment, a progressive party-list representative said Wednesday. Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño said the SC justices committed betrayal of public trust—an impeachable offense under the 1987 Constitution—when it ordered the reopening of the case. "What the SC did was a stupid mistake tantamount to gross incompetence. Worse, the recall order was made even without a proper motion from any of the parties and violative of the court’s internal rules," Casiño said in a statement. In a controversial resolution announced on Monday, the SC reversed its earlier "final" decision asking PAL to reinstate 1,400 retrenched flight attendants who went on strike in 1998 and ordering PAL owner Lucio Tan to pay P3 billion to the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP). The high court said the case was handled by the wrong divison and decided to allow the reopening of the case by re-raffling it off to a "new member-in-charge." Casiño said that he is currently consulting other members of the House justice panel, which hears impeachment cases, "on how to approach the matter." ‘Correcting an error’ But leaders of the House committee expressed a different take on the PAL-FASAP court row. Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, a lawyer, said the SC justices could not be held liable if they indeed found "compelling reason" to recall the case. "Not if they [SC justices] were correcting an error made," Fariñas said in a text message when asked for his reaction on Casiño’s statements. Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., committee chairperson, for his part, refused to comment on the issue, since he will head the panel in the impeachment proceeding if a complaint is ultimately filed against the SC justices. An impeachment complaint is currently pending before the House panel against SC justice Mariano del Castillo for allegedly plagiarizing works of foreign authors in a decision concerning a group of sexual slavery victims during the Japanese occupation — commonly known as "comfort women." Not too late Still, Casiño said the SC justices can avoid the threat of impeachment by reinstating the PAL employees and giving them back their wages. "Not doing so would be a great disservice on the Filipino people, making them unworthy of their highly esteemed positions," he said. Malacañang, for its part, said the high court should be more careful next time in handing out verdicts to avoid similar mistakes in the future. — RSJ, GMA News