"Big Man" gets the Senate President Position

 

MANILA (3rd Update, 12 p.m.) -- Buoyed by allies of President Benigno Aquino III, Senator Franklin Drilon of the ruling Liberal Party returned as Senate President seven years after yielding the position in a term-sharing agreement.

Seventeen out of 23 senators present at the opening of the 16th Congress on Monday morning voted for Drilon while his predecessor, Juan Ponce Enrile, became Minority Leader after garnering the second highest number of votes at six.
Senator Ralph Recto was named Senate President Pro Tempore while Senator Alan Peter Cayetano became Majority Leader. 

Also elected were Oscar Yabes as Senate Secretary and Jose Balajadia as head of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. 

Drilon got the support of Senators Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Aquilino Pimentel III, Antonio Trillanes IV, Pia Cayetano and her brother, Teofisto Guingona III, Lito Lapid, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Sergio Osmeña III, Ramon Revilla, Jr., Recto, Cayetano and Enrile. 

Joining the list were neophyte Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Grace Poe, Juan Edgardo Angara, and Cynthia Villar, whose husband Manny Villar took over the Senate leadership from Drilon in 2006.
Enrile was backed by Senators Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Vicente Sotto III, Gregorio Honasan II and Drilon. 

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago skipped the session because of chronic fatigue that kept her at home for nearly six months. 

"We must be a sensitive and responsive Senate. A Senate that feels the pulse of the people. A Senate that is tireless in pursuing reforms to propel our beloved country to greater economic, political and social heights," said Drilon.

"But more important, we should be a critical thinking Senate. Debates are good and we should encourage that because the well-crafted laws are the ones that have been debated lengthily and passionately," he added.

Drilon recommended the following measures to help the country build on the gains in the economy and boost unemployment: rationalization of fiscal incentives, changes to build-operate-transfer law and mining fiscal regime, removal of investment restrictions in laws cited in the Foreign Investment Negative List.

He also pushed for faster resolution of cases, particularly in the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, and passage of a law that will abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and establish the Bangsamoro region once the final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is signed. 

"Now, more than ever, we must transcend political differences and focus on these challenges. We must think of innovations and solutions," said Drilon, who was Senate President in 2000 and from 2001 to 2006.

Estrada, who was Acting Senate President from the time Enrile resigned a day before the end of 15th Congress on June 8, opened the session.
The 12 winners in the senatorial elections last May then took their oaths after the resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaiming their victory was entered into the records. It was followed by the election of officers. 

Drilon was the campaign manager of Team PNoy coalition as he denied speculations that the Senate presidency was a reward by Malacañang for the successful bid of filling Aquino allies in the Senate.
"The election of the Senate President is the mandate of the majority of the senators and the fact that nine Team PNoy candidates were elected into office would clearly deliver the message of the people that they want the policies of this administration to be sustained for the next three years," he said in a briefing last week. 

Discussions on committee chairmanships are still ongoing although the minority has yet to decide if it would follow Sotto’s suggestion not to head any committee so that they can objectively monitor the affairs of the Senate under the new leadership.
Estrada, however, is keen on keeping the chairmanship of the labor committee. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)

Mababasa dito

Legal fireworks at the Batasan?

 

It seems to be a “constitutional crisis” of its own making. By voting to uphold a ruling of the Commission on Elections annulling the proclamation of Regina Ongsiako Reyes as representative of Marinduque, the Supreme Court has placed itself and the poll body in a direct confrontation with the legislature, specifically the House of Representatives.

Indeed, reports have it that the House leadership has decided to let Reyes attend tomorrow’s opening of Congress as the sole and “official” representative of Marinduque’s lone congressional district.

Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte, widely presumed to retain the post of Speaker, and presumed deputy speaker Neptali Gonzales II, so news reports say, have called on both the Supreme Court and the Comelec to “back off” from Reyes’ case. Since Reyes had already been proclaimed the winner of the congressional contest, and indeed had taken her oath of office as congresswoman, the position of the House is that it is now up to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) to hear and decide the case.

Reyes’ opponent was former Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, son of a Supreme Court justice.

Based on the complaint of a certain Joseph Tan, the Comelec en banc ruled that Reyes should be unseated because it had been “proven” that she had renounced her Filipino citizenship and had not established residence in Marinduque. When Reyes raised the issue to the Supreme Court, the tribunal ruled in the Comelec’s favor, although with four justices dissenting.

Reyes appeared before the media earlier this week brandishing proof of her citizenship: a genuine and legitimate passport and documents attesting that she had renounced her dual American citizenship. In fact, says Reyes’ camp, the newly elected congresswoman had not even been given the chance to refute the charges about her citizenship, charges based on a blog, with little proof offered.

As Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes stated in his earlier dissenting opinion (he later changed his mind): “…[T]he issue of the candidate’s qualification—particularly his residence and citizenship—requires exhaustive presentation and examination of evidence, which issues are best heard in a full-blown quo warranto proceeding and not in a summary proceeding as in the instant case.”

* * *

And now, because of the Comelec ruling and the decision of the Supreme Court, three branches of government are facing a head-on confrontation over which body has the ultimate right to decide on electoral contests.

In a statement, Reyes said that she “stood for the truth” (in a previous press conference) because “Congress deserves no less.” “To take a stand against the interference directed at a coequal branch of government is a duty particularly of ALL elected members of Congress. If members of the House cannot defend a literal commitment to their institution, no other branch of government will.”

It’s a political and constitutional crisis, all right, and at this point one wonders which of the three institutions will give way and give up its prerogatives. One wonders, too, if the justices will be able to set aside their collegial feelings (Justice Presbitero Velasco, Lord Allan’s father, recused himself from voting) and remain faithful to the law and its wise interpretation. Reyes has filed a motion for reconsideration, and we should know soon which among the three bodies will “blink” and save the legal infrastructure from imminent collapse.

So it seems there will be more to look forward to beyond P-Noy’s Sona and the stylish gowns and barong worn by lawmakers walking down the red carpet at the Batasan tomorrow afternoon.

We might yet see fireworks of a legal sort.


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House To Call On Reyes During Roll Call

MANILA – Quezon City Rep. Sonny Belmonte on Friday said it will be Regina Ongsiako Reyes, not Lord Allan Velasco, who will be called during the roll call of members for the inaugural session of the 16th Congress on Monday.

The Supreme Court earlier upheld the Commission on Elections’ decision disqualifying Reyes from running for congresswoman of Marinduque due to issues about her citizenship. The decision benefits her rival, Lord Allan, who is the son of SC Associate Presbitero Velasco Jr.

For her part, Reyes said it is the House of Representatives electoral tribunal and not Comelec that should decide on her case.

Velasco wrote the House secretary general to show his proclamation and ask that he be allowed to assume the post of Marinduque representative after Reyes' proclamation was annulled by Comelec.

"Our own thinking at moment is proclamation of Reyes plus her subsequent taking of oath and so forth entitle her to be considered a member and that the case be decided by the HRET. It’s not only her case,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte said similar cases will be handled by the HRET.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker said he is confident he will be re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

He also said many of the positions of the Lower House will be elected Monday during the inaugural session.

"I hope so. I think so. I think that the, I recall when I first went for Speaker in 2001 I found I was only 2 votes ahead of 50% plus one. Last year, I did better. Hopefully this year, I hope it will also be better with the day, the big day within 3 days of today,” he told reporters.

“We don’t have to solve everything by Monday. Within few days after Monday by the coming week we hope to be able to fill up virtually all positions in question,” he added.

Belmonte said the chairman of the House appropriations committee may be named in time for the submission of the 2014 budget proposal on Tuesday.

He hinted many of the chairmanships in the 15th Congress may have been unchanged.

Belmonte expects the headcount of the majority at 250-260.

Spend PDAF in own district

Belmonte said he prefers congressmen to spend their priority development assistance funds (PDAF) in their own district rather than give them to another district.

He said he has also talked to the Commission on Audit, which is auditing all PDAF disbursements, to check actual use and not necessarily zero in on personalities then show the results to the public.

Salamat Abs-CbnNews!

House throws out Comelec, SC ruling on electoral cases

July 17, 2013 9:04 pm

by Llanesca T. Panti Reporter

 

The House of Representatives have recognized two women lawmakers thus far even if both Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Supreme Court nullified their election victory.
This developed after the Public Relations and Information Bureau of the House of Representatives released a partial, unofficial list of district representatives for the 16th Congress.


Dr. Angelina “Helen” Tan was identified as the representative of the fourth district of Quezon province, while Regina Reyes is named as the representative of the Lone District of Marinduque.

Tan beat Wigberto “Toby” Tañada Jr. of the ruling Liberal Party in the May polls by 4,000 votes, but the Comelec nullified Tan’s proclamation as winner by June 30. In the same Comelec decision, the poll body tasked the Provincial Board of Canvassers to transfer the 7,038 votes of a certain Alvin Tañada to Toby because Alvin is disqualified from participating in the 2013 Congressional race.

Reyes, on the other hand, won against then incumbent Rep. Lord Allan Velasco of Marinduque, son of Supreme Court Justice Presbitero Velasco. But in June 25, the Supreme Court ruled that Reyes is a US citizen and therefore is not qualified to be a representative.

The High Court decision on Reyes’ case affirmed the earlier decision of the Comelec.

Rep. Neptali Gonzales 2nd of Mandaluyong, who is assured of retaining his House Majority Leader post in the 16th Congress, earlier stressed that Tan and Reyes remain the legitimate winners in the May elections because any nature of electoral protest or qualification questions will be under the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) once the winners are proclaimed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers.

The Comelec ruling on Tan and Supreme Court decision on Reyes’ case both came after they were proclaimed winners.

“We will apply the principle of the HRET having the exclusive jurisdiction and sole judge once a member had been proclaimed by Comelec and had taken his/her oath before any officer authorized to administer an oath to all members, including party-list representatives who have been proclaimed by the Comelec,” Gonzales stressed in an interview.

“The Comelec and Supreme Court should back off from encroaching on the exclusive jurisdiction of HRET. They can’t take away the powers of HRET to hear electoral protests against lawmakers as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Gonzales added.

The HRET, whose members will be named after the 16th Congress opens its First Regular Session on July 22, can take as much as three years to resolve electoral protest cases.

Mababasa dito

Marites Vitug: Dark Clouds in Supreme Court!

The victory of Regina Reyes over the incumbent, Lord Allan Velasco, in the recent congressional race in the lone district of Marinduque must be hard for the Velascos to accept. After all, Allan broke the decades-old, enduring rule of the Reyes family in the province in 2010.



At the time, it was said that Allan changed the landscape of Marinduque elections. He ran a well-funded and aggressive campaign. It helped that his father, Presbitero Velasco Jr, a Supreme Court justice, was a known power figure who lurked in the shadows of the campaign.

The talk then was Allan’s victory heralded the beginning of the Velascos’ newfound hold on the province. Later, to consolidate this euphoric win, as Allan prepared to run for re-election, the Velascos organized a party-list group, Ang Mata’y Alagaan or AMA, to add one more family member in Congress.

As things turned out, after serving only one term, Allan lost his plum post to the Reyeses, giving the old political family renewed control of Marinduque. (The governor is Carmencita Reyes, Regina’s mother.)

But the Velascos did not completely lose as Lorna, the mother of Allan, is going to sit in the new Congress. She is the first nominee of AMA and is supposed to work for the interests of those with impaired vision. (The 2 other nominees are the Velascos' daughter and son.)

Velasco allies, however, found supposed lapses in Regina Reyes’s candidacy and questioned her citizenship before the Comelec, citing documents uploaded in a blog.

Reyes moved fast. Immediately after the Comelec proclaimed her winner (her lead over Allan was almost 4,000 votes), she took her oath before Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Meantime, the Comelec ruled against Reyes. She then elevated the case to the Supreme Court. This is where things get interesting. The Court, known to move in glacial ways, swiftly upheld Comelec, without question. In effect, the decision favors Allan.

What is contentious here, among other issues, is who really has jurisdiction over the case, which the Court blithely glossed over. Normally, election protests of congressional candidates fall with the HRET or the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.

Father Joaquin Bernas pointed out one way this case could have been decided: “…the Court could say to the petitioner, ‘Go to the electoral tribunal as the sole judge of all contests.’”


Brion’s dissent

In his lucidly written dissent, Brion questioned the “outright dismissal” of the case and the “reckless” refusal of the majority to have the respondents, at the very least, comment on the petition “in light of the gravity of the issues raised, the potential effect on jurisprudence…” He found the majority’s approach “unusual.”

He argued: “The Court’s role as adjudicator and the demands of basic fairness require that we should fully hear the parties and rule based on our appreciation of the merits…”

He was incredulous that the majority accepted a blog as evidence, together with photocopies of documents. “To accept these materials as statements of truth is to be partisan and to deny the petitioner her right to…due process.” Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Marvic Leonen, and Martin Villarama joined Brion in his dissent.

I take Brion’s dissent seriously because, in other cases, he has held a mirror to the Court, pointing out his colleagues’ violation of the Court’s internal rules.

In the infamous Dinagat case, wherein the Court flip-flopped and re-opened a case that had been entered into the book of judgments, Brion wrote: “Unlike the case of Lazarus who rose from the dead through a miracle, Dinagat resurrected because the Court disregarded its own rules…How such resurrection can happen in the Supreme Court is a continuing source of wonder!”


Velasco and the Court

Sure, Velasco inhibited himself in the Reyes case. That is his best defense. But there are key factors at play.

First, the justice in charge of the case is Jose Perez, known to be a friend of Velasco’s. The 2 worked closely together for about 5 years when Velasco was chief court administrator and Perez was his deputy. They were also classmates at the UP College of Law.

Second, it can get to be a cozy network in the Court. The justices tend to look after each other. As Brion wrote in his dissenting opinion on the request of former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban to expand his retirement benefits, “…such kind of ruling opens the Court itself to charges of selfishly ruling for its own interests...Why is this Court always liberal in cases involving themselves or former colleagues, but is very strict when considering the plight of lower-court judges?"

Third is Velasco’s personality. He is said to be generous with friends. He is easy to like, has a kind face, warm smile, and a disarming air of humility. When he talks to you, he bends his head slightly, as if to show respect, and his voice is soft and calm, even if he takes issue with you.

(That’s how I remember him when, in our one-on-one meeting many months ago, he informed me that he was withdrawing the 2 libel cases he had filed against me. He also told me he was terribly hurt by the phrase I used to describe him in my book, “practicing justice”—which I got from various lawyers—yet his tone was friendly, and at times, beseeching.)

Fourth and the most recent plus that Velasco gained is Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s apparent confidence in him. (She voted with the majority in the Reyes election case.) Facing a hostile majority on the Court, Sereno seems to have wooed him to her side. She designated him chair of the halls of justice committee, which is tasked to oversee the construction of some P3 billion worth of courts.

Velasco, as one of the most senior justices, also sits in the 3-member executive committee of the Court headed by the Chief Justice; the other is Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

What this whole episode tells us is that the Court is very slow to change. More importantly, the institution needs a firm and determined leader to keep it above suspicion. - Rappler.com

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