"As long as [the SC] works for the ideal, it is worth your support." – Justice Leonen
MANILA, August 28, 2014 -- Speaking before a crowd of mostly law students, Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen calmly underscored the importance of the rule of law in settling judicial issues.
"Words have settled meaning within a particular frame," he said, adding that "the most difficult cases are the ones whose outcomes have an impact to
society."
He said judicial review is "shaped by every case," and that as long as the SC "works for the ideal, it is worth your support."
Justice Leonen's pronouncements, addressed in an academic discussion on constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and public accountability at the University of the Philippines College of Law on August 28th, come on the heels of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's well-publicized verbal assaults against what he thinks is a "meddlesome" court.
The President has openly broached the idea of amending the 1987 Constitution, not only for a possible term extension, but also to clip the Judiciary's power for judicial review following a succession of setbacks his administration has received from the court, notably the SC's unanimous decision rendering parts of the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), more popularly known as the President's pork, as unconstitutional.
In June this year, members of the SC voted 13-1-0 to nullify Budget Circular 541 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The said circular allowed for, among others, the withdrawal of unobligated allotments from government agencies and declaring them as savings even before the end of the fiscal year, the cross-border transfers of savings, and the funding of projects not covered by an appropriation in the approved national budget.
The SC's decision has caused a major dent on President Aquino's supposed platform of clean governance, with his popularity rating plummeting to new lows and various multisectoral groups lodging separate impeachment complaints against him before the House of Representatives.
His decision not to fire DBM Secretary Butch Abad, a close associate, despite mounting public outcry against the alleged DAP mastermind, only served to fuel the notion that he is out to protect his political allies.
Even Congress, predominantly made up of members of the President's coalition, has joined in the President's seemingly vindictive stance against the SC, reducing a significant volume of the Judiciary's proposed budget for next year.
According to Justice Leonen, only 0.85 percent of the GDP was allotted for the Judiciary in 2014, and next year's allotment stands to be chopped further to only 0.65 percent of the GDP.
With hardly any funds to construct halls of justice, hire more legal researchers, ensure the security of judges in the country, and with 80 percent of the court's Judicial Development Fund going to court personnel, Justice Leonen lamented the weakening of the Judiciary.
"[The SC] is not designed as a political body," he said, which leaves the Judiciary's budget at the mercy and sole discretion of Congress.
In the end, Justice Leonen reiterated the SC's function in furthering constitutional democracy by keeping a close eye on the "excesses of all departments," including its own, primarily by not yielding and ending up subservient to the political outcome of its decisions. (SNOM)