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[av_heading heading=’EDITORIAL | Challenges to the Legal Order’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ATTY. ADE FAJARDO
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Tuesday, July 4, 2017
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(Speech delivered during the induction of officers and new members of IBP Iloilo Chapter on June 30, 2017. Atty. Fajardo recently assumed as National President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.)
WITH YOUR indulgence let me say a few things about myself first:
My father hails from Pototan, Iloilo, while my mother is a Santillan from Antique. I was born in San Jose, Antique – studied elementary and high school there in public schools that are a walking distance from our house. Although my parents eventually relocated here, I had no chance to study in Iloilo because I went straight to Quezon City for college, and eventually Law School.
My journey to the national leadership of the IBP is quite a fascinating story in itself. The new lawyers here today can relate to the experience. After the euphoria of passing the bar examinations in 1999, I was confronted with the basic question of which IBP chapter to enlist with. Feeling deeply connected with the province of my birth, I wrote down IBP Antique without hesitation.
I had zero inkling about the significance of that casual act of signing the roll of attorneys. But I am standing here in front of you today because of that rare moment of clairvoyance. In a few hours, I will be IBP national President by automatic succession, after having served for the past couple of years as your Governor and Executive Vice President.
In early 2015 I resigned from government and ran unopposed for the position of President of IBP Antique Chapter. Since Antique was eligible in accordance with the rotation rule, prominent Ilonggo lawyers like Rene Villa and Von Bedona encouraged me to lead the region. Again, we rose to the challenge on the basis of the Ilonggo brand of consensus.
When the 22nd Board convened in June 2015 in order to elect the EVP who would eventually succeed the national President, our region campaigned earnestly to get the position,impelled by the thought that the last national President coming from Western Visayas was Eugene Tan of Capiz, who succeeded in 1989 after much controversy.
That was almost thirty years ago. Fortunately for us, the 22nd Board agreed to hand the baton to Western Visayas and tonight I feel honored and privileged to be with you as we enter into what promises to be an era of serious challenges to the legal order.
It is an era of challenges, indeed. For example, just last week, the outgoing members of the IBP Board of Governors felt compelled to issue a statement lamenting the show-cause order of a committee of the House of Representatives against a division of the Court of Appeals in reaction to the latter’s grant of bail to certain officials of the Ilocos Norte government.
These officials were ordered detained because the Committee on Good Government and Accountability of the House of Representatives held them in contempt for refusing to answer questions, or being unduly evasive in answering questions during a legislative inquiry.
While the power of contempt is clearly an adjunct of Congress’ power to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation, the question of whether or not they reacted correctly or in grave abuse of discretion given this unique set of facts is also clearly a justiciable issue.
A petition for habeas corpus was filed with the Court of Appeals questioning the propriety of their detention,on the ground that in refusing to answer questions of the committee, they invoked their constitutional right against self-incrimination. The petition was acted upon by the Court of Appeals. Again, according to the IBP Board, such a petition is clearly within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals.
Precisely, habeas corpus is the remedy available to any person who seeks to question the propriety of his detention, by any instrumentality or institution of the State, including Congress, for serious violations of his constitutional rights.
But the reaction of the House was to call the Justices “idiots” and to order them to show cause why they should not be held in contempt. This came right after the Speaker of the House declared he would not respect an order from the Supreme Court that would effectively nullify the President’s martial law declaration in Mindanao.
A couple of days ago, the President himself was heard directing members of the judiciary to desist from the issuance of Temporary Restraining Orders against the infrastructure initiatives of the government. This is well and good and I cannot agree more, in the name of progress.
But this dangerously assumes that the issuance of TROs is not propelled by serious consideration and legal basis. And that the Supreme Court has been remiss in its duty to discipline errant members of the judiciary who indiscriminately issue orders that arrest economic growth without a sound legal foundation.
Most worrisome is that these public pronouncements tend to diminish or demean the judiciary in the eyes of the people. A sound judicial system requires public confidence that justice be done when it is due. Our new lawyers here present know that the judicial branch of government is the weakest of all the three branches, and for it to effectively discharge its functions under the Constitution it must be insulated from undue pressure, because in order to remain pure and unwavering, justice – like love – must be blind.
At the IBP national convention last February, the Chief Justice made all those present recite once again their lawyers’ oath. A fitting reminder of our role as officers of the Court and instruments of justice. May this night be a reminder therefore to our dear young lawyers to always uphold the Constitution and respect the rule of law./PN
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