THE Supreme Court has vowed to defend the 1987 Constitution following the moves by the allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in Congress to push to amend it.
In a statement on the 30th anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution on Thursday, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said the judiciary will continue to perform its mandate as enshrined in the Constitution.
“We in the Supreme Court and the judiciary today recommit ourselves to the task of allowing our people to realize their hopes and aspirations of a society that is more just, humane and equal by ensuring that the courts are firm, fair and free,” Sereno said.
She underscored the historical value of the Constitution as the “backbone for the new democracy ushered in by the force of the People Power Revolution of 1986 that ended the Marcos dictatorship.”
She recalled that the 1987 Constitution came at the end of the revolutionary government put up by the late former President Corazon Aquino after Marcos was toppled from power.
She said the Charter, which was ratified by 16,622,111 affirmative votes, provided “a rich and fertile ground for the rule of law to be nourished, to grow and to bear fruit.
“This it did with a renewed focus on human rights and civil liberties, an emphasis on sovereignty and institutional protection for the independence of the judiciary,” Sereno said.
Sereno said the Constitution allows dissent while protecting national security even as it emphasizes human rights and human dignity.
During the 2016 presidential campaign Duterte promised to amend the Constitution to pave the way for a federal form of government.
The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments has already passed a resolution calling for Congress to convene itself into a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said they were targeting the last three years of the Duterte administration as a transition period toward federalism.