MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino declared yesterday
that the only thing that motivates him to push for amendments to the
Constitution is to have the powers of the judiciary clipped, at least before he
steps down in June 2016.
During the question and answer portion of the annual forum
hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap),
Aquino repeated his plans of making the Supreme Court reminiscent to that of
the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
“My main issue with the Constitution is the concept of
judicial overreach. It’s kind of involved a discussion, if you want to hear it.
That is the first priority for me,” the President said in answer to a question
about his stand on Charter change.
“The direct answer to the question is there’s still an
ongoing study precisely what to put in into the proposed constitutional
amendment to strike a balance between the previous position of the Supreme
Court during the martial law years,” Aquino added.
He said there has to be a “fine balance” between the powers
of the executive and the judiciary which, according to him, is still subject of
a study.
In late August, Aquino made it clear that he wants the
judiciary’s review powers stopped.
He said there has to be a limit to the powers of the
judiciary.
“The judicial reach, it should be subject to a review and
limitations,” Aquino told veteran radio broadcaster Elmar Acol of Bombo Radyo
Philippines during an interview in Malacañang.
Aquino, who has been very vocal about his displeasure over
the high court’s unanimous decision striking down his Disbursement Acceleration
Program (DAP) for its patent illegality, said this should be the focus when
amendments are introduced to the Constitution.
Although there was no direct statement, there was
nonetheless an implied or subliminal message that he wanted a judiciary not too
meddlesome in the affairs of state, particularly if these involve political
questions.
“What is the definition of judicial reach? During the
martial law years the same question was asked whether martial law was legal and
this was asked before the Supreme Court. The court’s answer was ‘we cannot
intervene, that is a political question’,” Aquino said in Filipino.
In yesterday’s Focap forum, Aquino again cited the DAP case
where the SC voted unanimously in July to declare the stimulus fund scheme
unconstitutional and several more cases where, he said, the SC should not have
invoked jurisdiction.
Aquino then mentioned the case of Reyes versus Comelec
(Commission on Elections) where the SC still took cognizance of the electoral
protest case when the Constitution is very specific that only the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal has jurisdiction over such cases.
Incumbent Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes belongs to the
administration Liberal Party, and she is the sister of former Marinduque
congressman Edmund Reyes, whom Aquino appointed as head of the Toll Regulatory
Board.
Ms. Reyes’ victory is being questioned by her political
rival, former Marinduque Rep. Lourd Allan Velasco, son of SC Senior Justice
Presbitero Velasco.
“These are two separate and co-equal branches to ours – but
the Constitution is very explicit. It’s the HRET that can or is the sole judge.
Let the HRET finish its job, and if there was grave abuse of discretion, then
that would be the time for the SC to intervene,” he said.
Courtesy of PhilStar
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