THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter in Ilocos Norte on Thursday rallied behind the Court of Appeals in its clash with the House of Representatives in the case involving six provincial officials being held at the House for alleged contempt.
Chapter president Cherrie Grace Bareng-Asistin said the House should abide by the order of the appellate court’s Special Fourth Division to release the so-called Ilocos Six who were detained for their alleged misuse of P66.45 million in tobacco funds for Ilocos Norte to buy motor vehicles.
She made her statement even as Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday stood pat on the House leadership’s decision to issue a show-cause order against three Court of Appeals justices asking them to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for granting the habeas corpus petition of the “Ilocos Six.”
Alvarez also asked the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to “discipline” Associate Justices Stephen Cruz, Edwin Sorongon and Nina Antonio-Valenzuela “to rectify the uneasy situation its [the appellate court’s] recklessness has created.”
Asistin called on the House leaders to respect the independence of the judiciary instead of issuing the show-cause order against the six Ilocos Norte officials.
‘‘Respect begets respect. Yes, there is separation of powers, and in this case, there is no encroachment on the power of the legislative branch by the judiciary,” Asistin said.
‘‘If the writ of habeas corpus was already issued, then it should be immediately executory, even pending appeal or motion for reconsideration owing to the fact that the life and liberty of the detained persons are at stake.”
Asistin said all lawyers should know the mandate and authority of the appellate court under the law.
She cited Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 that gave the appellate cout the “original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus and quo warranto, and auxiliary writs or processes whether or not in the aid of its appellate jurisdiction.
‘‘If the writ was issued by a court that has competent jurisdiction over the matter, then it should be respected by the agency or whoever it was issued to.
“I understand that it was only the Sergeant-At-Arms (Roland Detabali) that was impleaded in the Petition filed with the CA. So, if it was issued directly to him, then he has no discretionary power. He has no power to defy it; rather, he has to respect the order coming from the CA.”