It is ironic and lamentable that as the world celebrates Universal Children’s Day with the theme “Stop Violence Against Children”, the House of Representatives is conducting its second day hearing on proposed measures that seek to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 15 to nine years old. These bills will potentially inflict untold violence upon Filipino children.
Like the restoration of the death penalty, the lowering of the MACR is a veneer to conceal a flawed and ineffective criminal justice system. That criminal syndicates or criminal parents use children to transgress the law shows that these adult offenders are emboldened to commit crimes as they do not fear apprehension, or if caught the moneyed can buy their freedom even as the poor contemplate a successful escape.
In view of the premature Marcos burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB), the petitioners in the Supreme Court are contemplating to file a motion to order the exhumation of what remains of Marcos which was precipitately and stealthily interred in the LNMB.
If the “remains” of the dictator are exhumed, then it is opportune that a forensic examination be conducted to determine whether what was buried were his mortal remains or a mere wax replica.
The petitioners will also ask the Supreme Court to declare in contempt all those involved in the premature burial of Marcos without the Supreme Court decision having become final and executory.
It will be recalled that Rep. Edcel C. Lagman on behalf of the petitioner filed a manifestation with the High Court on 10 November 2016 that pending receipt of the Supreme Court decision, they will definitely file motions for reconsideration which should not rendered moot by a precipitate Marcos burial.
The stealthy, precipitate and irregular burial of Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani did not put the dictator to rest.
Escalating protests against his interment in the memorial ground of good men will make him turn a million times in his undeserved grave.
The decision of the Supreme Court allowing the burial is not final and executory because the petitioners have the right to file motions for reconsideration within a 15-day period from their receipt of the decision on 11 November 2016 or until 28 November 2016 since the 15th day, 26 November 2016, falls on a Saturday.
Even if the status quo ante order had been lifted and no new order has been issued by the Supreme Court barring a precipitate burial, the Supreme Court decision cannot be implemented during the prescriptive period of 15 days from the petitioners’ receipt of the decision on 11 November 2016. However, if within said period a motion for reconsideration is interposed, the finality accrues only after another 15 days from the denial of the motion for reconsideration.
The clandestine burial of Marcos is in the malevolent mold of the Marcoses’ propensity for abuse, deception, deviousness and underhandedness.
The Marcos family has once again violated the rule of law and disrespected judicial processes.
The threat of declaring martial law is not an option which President Duterte can brandish about.
The threat is a virtual sword of Damocles looming over the heads of even the legitimate political dissenters, oppositionists and activists.
Perils endanger even the best of intentions.
It is not to quell the violence which no less than the administration has fomented, encouraged and condoned like the unabated extrajudicial killings of criminal suspects related to the deadly anti-drug campaign.
It is more to instill fear to dissuade people from expressing even constructive criticism.
A thoughtless articulation of possible suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or declaration of martial law must be recanted unconditionally to quash the catastrophic alarm which it has provoked.
The pseudo minority in the House of Representatives completely misses the import why the authentic minority has asked the Supreme Court to oust Rep. Danilo Suarez, the “minority leader” handpicked by the leadership of the supermajority.
It is not a question of securing political power because that belongs to the majority coalition, principally the ruling PDP-Laban.
The petition for mandamus with the High Court is a suit to assure credible and potent dissent, which is the hallmark of a democratic deliberative assembly like the House of Representatives.
A eunuch of a minority makes the House the courtyard of spineless clowns.
How can the Liberal Party be accused of desperation to stay in power when those who joined the majority coalition are virtual second class citizens in the supermajority, while those who opted from the very start to be with the minority are so few as to make a run for power.
While not seeking political power since power is a contradiction to a minority status, the authentic minority of seven members seeks to maintain a genuine opposition who are not beholden to or an adjunct of the supermajority.
The doctrine of “political question” is almost an extinct invocation because the 1987 Constitution expanded the power of judicial review of the Supreme Court to include the adjudication of cases involving grave abuse of discretion committed by functionaries in the political departments.
Consequently, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to rule on the grave abuse of discretion of leaders of the supermajority in interpreting and applying the internal rules of the House of Representatives which includes longstanding traditions, in refusing to recognize Rep. Teddy Baguilat, Jr. as the duly elected Minority Leader after he placed a clear second to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
