THE perenially controversial House of Representatives is expected to open a new chapter in history in 2018 with the looming impeachment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, as well as in passing unpopular pieces of legislation.
The chapter includes the proposed shift to the federal form of government, the possibly constitutionally-challenged Bangsamoro Basic Law, same-sex marriage and the legalization of medical marijuana, among others.
In 2017, the House, with the Senate, made the unpopular move of passing the controversial tax-reform package of the Duterte administration which lowers income taxes but increases taxes imposed on prime commodities such as petroleum; along with the enactment of the 2018 General Appropriations Bill, which was said to be “pork-free.”
Lawmakers led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said testimonial evidence presented at the House Committee on Justice, chaired by PDP-Laban Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, were damning enough to establish probable cause against Sereno.
“The pieces of evidence against Sereno are overwhelming enough to remove her from office,” Alvarez said in several media interviews.
He was referring to the testimonies of three incumbent Supreme Court justices–Noel Tijam, Francis Jardeleza and Teresita Leonardo de Castro—and retired Justice Arturo Brion before the House justice panel.
In their testimonies, the four SC justices said Sereno had shown disrespect for the entire court and her colleagues and violated the collegial nature of the court through unilateral actions without the approval or contrary to the decision of the court en banc.
Among the issues Alvarez and other lawmakers believed had pinned down Sereno was her allegedly inaccurate Statement of Assets and Liabilities—the same offense that got then Chief Justice Renato Corona, her predecessor, ousted in 2012.
Umali said his panel would decide on the probable cause of the Sereno impeachment complaint in February 2018 after it could hear the testimonies of other SC justices in the impeachment proceedings.
It is the first time the Lower House is the one seeking evidence against the subject of an impeachment complaint.
The complainant, lawyer Larry Gadon, accused Sereno of corruption, violation of the Constitution, commission of high crimes and betrayal of public trust.
The House justice panel had asked Sereno to attend the hearing to answer the allegations against her.
But the chief magistrate refused to do so.
Instead, she said her laywers would be the ones to answer the allegations”•a fact that was rejected by the administration allies-dominated House justice panel.
In September, the committee found the Gadon impeachment complaint sufficient in form and substance although many of the allegations in the complaint were unsupported by evidence or were based mainly on hearsay and newspaper clippings.
The committee is expected to extract testimonies from three more SC justices when it resumes deliberation in January 2018.
Umali said his panel invited Justices Samuel Martires, Mariano del Castillo and Bienvenido Reyes to speak on the allegations against Sereno.
Martires will testify on the alleged delay of the release of benefits due retired SC workers, while del Castillo is expected to delve on the corruption issues.
Reyes, on the other hand, is set to testify on the “Ilocos 6” row with Court of Appeals justices, said Umali.
Opposition lawmakers said the complaint filed by Gadon was based on mere hearsay because the allegations were based on newspaper clippings.
Since it was based on newspaper clippings, the complaint became a triple hearsay, they said.
They also said Gadon did not even have “personal knowledge” of the acts imputed on Sereno and lawmakers, eager to impeach the Chief Justice, were the ones who looked for evidence to support the allegations in the complaint.
“They are all based on newspaper clippings. I do not think the complainant Gadon was present when all these things happened… There are more allegations here that are pure hearsay,” Akbayan Party-:ist Rep. Tom Villarin said.
Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate cautioned the committee against being used in a “fishing expedition” merely to justify the impeachable offenses alleged in the complaint.
“These proceedings should not be used for a fishing expedition just to justify the grounds,” Zarate said.
But Alvarez was quick to debunk allegations that House justice panel’s impeachment proceedings were a fishing expedition.
He said the mere action of the committee to invite several justices of the SC, among other resource persons, was proof that it exerts efforts to validate every information contained in the impeachment complaint.
Cha-Cha chances bright
Prospect for Charter Change to effect federalism in 2018 is brighter, as far as Alvarez is concerned.
Alvarez said the House was ready for a grand debate on Charter Change when Congress resumes session in January.
It is eyeing to pass House Concurrent Resolution 09 directing both chambers of Congress to convene into a constituent assembly to rewrite the 1987 Constitution.
While it has yet to get a full commitment from senators that the latter would be willing to give in to their terms in terms of amending the Charter by way of a Con-Ass, Alvarez is confident the push for federalism will snowball as early as next January.
The Lower House in December started floor debates on Charter change with PDP-Laban Rep. Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Reforms, pushing the adoption of HCR 9.
Mercado said time was ripe for federalism, noting the high public trust ratings of President Duterte.
“We have conducted nine hearings here [House of Representatives] and four public consultations nationwide which showed that there is a need to amend or revise the 1987 Constitution,” Mercado said in his sponsorship speech.
Mercado said among the prominent proposals were the amendment of the socio-economic provisions of the Constitution and the total revision of the 1987 Constitution to implement a structural change from the unitary into a federal form of government.
The switch to federalism was among the 27 priority measures identified by the Duterte administration during the Legislative- Executive Development Advisory Council meeting in August.
Congressional leaders earlier agreed to create a joint technical working group composed of congressmen and senators to draft the proposed revisions to the Constitution in the absence of the 25-man Constitutional Commission that Duterte promised to create.
House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas earlier said the House and the Senate might tap six to 12 members each in the joint TWG to form a working draft that would be submitted to the Congress which will convene into a Con-Ass to push federalism.
BBL pushed despite snags
The House is also poised to work on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic law despite Duterte’s pronouncement that the measure was unlikely to hurdle constitutional barriers.
“I do not think it will hurdle constitutional [barriers],” Duterte said in one of his speeches.
Duterte’s statement came after he asked Congress to hold a special session during its Christmas break to pass the BBL.
But both House and Senate leaders rejected the call for a special session as they did not see the need for such.
But early on, the House committee on local government, in a joint meeting with the committee on Muslim Affairs and the committee on peace, reconciliation and unity, created a sub-committee tasked with harmonizing all four bills proposing a basic law for the Bangsamoro, including that of Alvarez’s HB 6475 which proposed the creation of a Bangsamoro political entity and abolishes the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao “to correct the historical injustices inflicted to Muslim people.”
The sub-committee, to be chaired by Liberal Party Rep. Wilter Wee Palma II of Zamboanga Sibugay and represented by at least three members each from the three committees, will come up with a working draft bill based on House Bill 6475, 92, 6121 and 6263 authored by Alvarez, Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra Sinsuat Sema and Reps. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga and Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, respectively.
“The purpose of this Basic Law is to establish a political entity, provide for its basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and their aspiration to chart their political future through a democratic process that will secure their identity and posterity and allow for meaningful governance,” Alvarez’s bill states.
Alvarez said his bill aims “to usher (in) a new era of peace and development” not only in Mindanao but throughout the Philippines.
The bill provides: “This bill prescribes the design for the continuation and improvement of vital reforms introduced by the current government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“This restructured entity will enhance existing systems and procedures, as well as establish a new set of institutional arrangements and modalities between the central government and the autonomous government with respect to the sharing of wealth and revenues, transitional aspects, and normalization.”
Alvarez has assured the stakeholders that the Lower House will do its “part to help find peace in Mindanao.”
“Now more than ever, it is imperative that Filipino Muslims and Christians united amid a new threat coming from Islamist militants, espousing an extremist and violent ideology radically different from Islam’s tenets of peace and bortherhood,” Alvarez said.
The four bills seek to provide for the BBL and abolish the ARMM.
They seek to repeal Republic Act 9054, titled “An Act to Strengthen and Expand the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao” and RA 6374 titled “An Act Providing for an Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”
Earlier, the three committees held an initial deliberation on the BBL proposals wherein the creation of a sub-committee, which would harmonize the four bills, was approved. Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. of South Cotabato, chairman of the Committee on Local Government, said the bills seek to grant the autonomous region in Mindanao more flexibility and a wider range of authority in politics, economy and finance.
Medical marijuana
The main author of the proposed medical marijuana bill expressed hope the Senate would share the same enthusiasm as the House in supporting the bill.
Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, principal author of House Bill 6517 or the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis bill, said the fact that the discussions on the measure had reached the plenary level was proof that many of his colleagues recognized the importance of the medicinal and beneficial use of cannabis by patients suffering from pain and other debilitating medical conditions.
The House committee on health, chaired by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, earlier approved the bill and submitted it for floor deliberations to address concerns or apprehensions aired by several medical groups and other sectors who were against the bill.
The bill is expected to get a third and final reading approval when sessions resume in January.
Albano pointed out that through the bill, “We advocate the legal use of medical marijuana to help terminally ill patients and patients with debilitating disease or medical condition for pain management considerations,” he added.
Albano said “very stringent control provisions” in the measure on the use of medical marijuana were spelled out in HB 6517 to prevent any abuse and harm patients legally allowed or authorized by doctors to use it.
Among the vocal critics of the proposed medical cannabis bill are Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay and Sen. Vincente Sotto III.
But newly-appointed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III supports the intent of Albano’s measure. During the 16th Congress, when the bill was introduced, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Phillippines backed the proposed measure because it realized that medical marijuana will help patients who are in pain ot suffering from other forms of discomfort.
Albano said it would be unfair to judge the bill and reject it outright without having thoroughly read and fully undetstood its content and intent.
“Access to medical use is also very stringent because medical use of marijuana will be allowed only to patients who are terminally ill or suffering from debilitating medical conditions,” Albano said.
Licensed unions of LGBT
Alvarez advocates “civil partnerships” in filing House Bill 6595 which recognized licensed unions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples.
The House leadership, Alvarez said, will prioritize the passage of his proposed Civil Partnership Act that seeks to grant LGBT couples the same rights and privileges enjoyed by spouses.
Alvarez’s bill proposes to allow consenting adults “of either the same or opposite sex” to be into “civil partnership couples” that enjoy “all benefits and protections … granted to spouses in a marriage.”
Alvarez’s proposal provides that no one can enter into a civil partnership unless he or she is at least 18 years old and “free from any previous bond of marriage or civil partnership.”
Couples have to “share a common domicile” for at least two uninterrupted years during the time of application for a license, and their relationship should be “publicly known.”
The bill states that administering officers for marriages under Article 7 of the Family Code would also be authorized to administer civil partnerships, but priests or their equivalents would be free to choose whether to officiate over a civil partnership ceremony.
Under the bill, civil partnership couples would be allowed to adopt children as long as they meet legal qualifications but “only when there are no married couples willing to adopt the child,” or if the child belonged to one of the partners.
It provides that civil partnership couples would also be bound by the marital communication privilege, which prohibits them from testifying against the other.
