The Day We Impeached the Chief Justice

17Dec11

November 22. Cong. Mel and I were now shaking hands with the people from DOJ, International Justice Mission, and other groups after almost three hours of meeting. It was the third, or maybe fourth, technical working group meeting to polish the substitute bill for all bills strengthening the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. Finally, differences were ironed out.  the fruit of our labor is ready to be presented to the mother committee, the appropriations committee after that, and plenary debates. Before separating ways, somebody raised that Cong. Mel, in order to rally support for the Expanded Anti Trafficking in Persons Act, should deliver a privilege speech on the observance of the International Day Against Trafficking. Cong. Mel agreed. The date was December 12, a Monday (privilege day for the House).

The final version of the speech was done morning of December 12. Cong. Mel is listed to be the first privileged speaker during the afternoon’s session. As he was reading the piece in his office around lunch, he told me that the office of the speaker sent a text message Sunday afternoon about the Majority bloc’s caucus today at 2:30pm. I asked what the topic was. “Does Speaker want the RH Bill to be voted before the Christmas break?” I asked after reading reports that PNoy is growing impatient with the pace of deliberations when he talked to the speaker. Cong. Mel said the text message didn’t elaborate.

He added, “but I feel this is about Corona.”

Maybe Corona’s allegations in his speech during the Supreme Court’s flag ceremony that day were true. That an ouster plot was being engineered by a powerful group.

Cong. Mel was already in the Andaya Hall minutes before the clock struck 2:30pm. He has always been earlier than punctual. The group started to group as minutes go by. Being a caucus, not even a chief of staff was allowed to enter the room. So I opted to stay inside the office and finish some administrative tasks.

At 3PM, I got a text message. It was Cong. Mel saying that Rep. Tupas is enumerating and explaining each of the eight grounds why the House should impeach the Chief Justice. So it was true.

I acknowledged receipt of text and didn’t bother him anymore with questions. I know he will be listening intently in order to make a principled stance.

At 4PM, some staff and I went to the plenary hall to hear our boss deliver his privilege speech on human trafficking. He was already seated in his place as the speaker banged his gavel to signal the opening of the session. But not more than 20 congressmen were inside the plenary hall. Most of these present are from the minority.

I was surprised to get a call from boss who was just a few meters in front of me. Ah he doesn’t know we were there.

He said “Nakapila pa yung mga tao sa Andaya to sign the impeachment against CJ. Mga one hundred siguro yun. Pumirma na ako.”

He added, “I am willing to give way if the majority leader wants somebody to speak in plenary about the impeachment”

But the number of congressmen started to grow slowly, by twos and threes coming from the south entrance of the plenary hall. Then I saw the majority leader showing the thumb-up sign to Cong. Mel. This was his cue. He rose, spoke, and was applauded by his colleagues who reached more than a hundred when he concluded his speech.

I had the opportunity to ask him what transpired inside the Andaya after the session that day. He mentioned that Rep. Tupas explained that the impeachment complaint is a non-debatable issue thus after garnering this certain of signatures it can be immediately transmitted to the senate to be tried. Cong. Mel also supposed that other groups would probably broach that pork was dangled to influence the signature. But, according to him, the speaker said nobody is forcing nobody in signing. That signing the complaint entails no reward and sanctions.

Cong. Mel told me that “he has an axe to grind against the Chief Justice”. It was the flip-flopping decisions of the SC on the cityhood of 16 towns that made him sign. I recall that when I was still working with the League of Cities of the Philippines, Cong. Mel was the organization’s Secretary General who cried foul over the SC’s redefinition of “final and executory”. Corona was one of the justices who gave alternating decisions perhaps depending on his mood.

The impeachment against Corona was long overdue, according to Cong. Mel. Cities lost millions because of allowing unqualified towns to become cities. “Now I can sleep well”

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Tags: ceazar ryan aquino, Chief Justice, CJ Corona, House of Representatives, Impeachment, Mel Senen Sarmiento, Renato Corona, Trafficking