The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on another constitutional matter as the Aquino administration is bent on putting to a test Vice President Jejomar Binay鈥檚 (inset photo) immunity from suit a year before the next presidential election. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines鈥揟he Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on another constitutional matter as the Aquino administration is bent on putting to a test Vice President Jejomar Binay鈥檚 immunity from suit a year before the next presidential election.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has ruled out an impeachment case against Binay arising from the Ombudsman鈥檚 anticipated move to file criminal charges against the Vice President, along with his son Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, Hilmarc Construction Corp. and 21 others, for the allegedly overpriced P2.2-billion Makati parking building.
鈥淚 think impeachment is out of the question,鈥� said Belmonte, a vice chair of the Liberal Party (LP), citing the proximity of the filing of certificates of candidacy in October, marking the start of the campaign season.
But the leader of the House of Representatives disagreed with the Ombudsman鈥檚 plan to test Binay鈥檚 immunity. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a good move,鈥� he said.
Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, an LP stalwart, said the upshot of the anticipated Ombudsman indictment was suspension from office and probably detention for Binay鈥檚 alleged participation in contracting Hilmarc to build the parking building during his final term as Makati mayor between 2007 and 2010.
鈥淚 have read the Ombudsman charge sheet and I think with the evidence presented, he will be indicted and he will have to defend himself in the Sandiganbayan. Impeachment can no longer be filed as elections are less than a year from now,鈥� Erice said in a phone interview.
Erice said the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision on the condonation of past sins by reelection being used by Binay鈥檚 son to justify the lifting of the six-month suspension order against him would not matter in the Vice President鈥檚 case.
鈥淭he condonation doctrine is applicable only to administrative cases but not to suspension brought about by criminal proceedings,鈥� Erice said.
He noted that it would depend on the Sandiganbayan whether Binay would be suspended and detained, just like Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon 鈥淏ong鈥� Revilla Jr. who have been incarcerated since they were charged with plunder in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
Burr, Agnew precedents
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., the head of the National Unity Party that is part of the administration coalition, said that the Ombudsman鈥檚 action against Binay would put to test the immunity from lawsuits vested on impeachable officers, such as the President and the Vice President.
鈥淭here is currently no jurisprudence in local courts on whether a sitting Vice President may be tried in criminal court for acts committed before they assumed office,鈥� Barzaga said in a phone interview.
US jurisprudence, he said, provides two cases where a sitting vice president had to go through criminal proceedings while in office鈥擜aron Burr (the third American vice president) for killing Washington chief aide Alexander Hamilton, and Spiro Agnew (vice president from 1968 to 1973) for taking bribes while he was Maryland governor.
鈥淚 think the Vice President (Binay) will raise the issue to the Supreme Court. He will not go down without a fight. The ball will be in the court鈥檚 hands,鈥� Barzaga said.
Compared to the presidency, the Vice President鈥檚 office is 鈥渘ot a crucial office in practical terms鈥� and 鈥渢he Vice President does not embody a branch of government as the executive inherently does,鈥� Barzaga said, citing Alan Hirsch鈥檚 鈥淎 Citizen鈥檚 Guide to Impeachment.鈥�
VP to invoke immunity
Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, interim president of Binay鈥檚 United Nationalist Alliance, said the Vice President would invoke the constitutional provision declaring that all impeachable officers are immune from any suit.
鈥淎dmittedly, impeachment is the action allowed by the Constitution. Whether this will prosper or not, will not depend on whether there is legal basis or not, since impeachment is a purely political process, which means to say it鈥檚 a numbers game. It all depends on the whims of the Liberal Party in the House,鈥� Tiangco said.
What is clear, he said, is the LP鈥檚 dogged determination to get Binay out of the presidential race at all cost. Binay currently leads in popularity surveys despite months of demolition in the Senate.
鈥淭he LP is hell-bent in staying in power beyond 2016 at all cost, to cover up their plunder and other anomalies,鈥� said Tiangco, citing the close ties of LP leaders Senate President Franklin Drilon and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to accused plunderer Janet Lim-Napoles.
More bombshell
In an interview over dzBB on Sunday, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said he would have more expos茅s on corruption against Binay at Monday鈥檚 resumption of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing on corruption allegations against the Vice President.
The new bombshell, he said, would deal with alleged irregularities in the Pag-Ibig Fund (Home Development Mutual Fund), of which Binay is chair.
Amid possible graft charges to be filed against him, Binay would drop his bid for the presidency, Trillanes said.
鈥淗e will not run, he will back out the same way he backed out in the debate,鈥� the senator said, referring to Binay鈥檚 last-minute retreat from a debate with him on the Makati building controversy.
Trillanes said he expected the Senate subcommittee to come out by next week with a partial report on the corruption allegations against Binay.
鈥楥辞苍蝉辫颈谤补肠测鈥�
In a text message, Binay鈥檚 spokesman Joey Salgado shrugged off Trillanes鈥� latest blast, describing it as part of a 鈥渃onspiracy involving the Senate, the Ombudsman and other government agencies against the Vice President and his family.鈥�
Salgado said Trillanes had so far failed to produce evidence of wrongdoing in the state housing program.
鈥淲e hope that the Pag-Ibig Fund be allowed to do its work. To continue to drag Pag-Ibig Fund is not good for the government because it is one of the best-performing and honest (state corporations), it is not good for the civil service because honest public officials are not spared,鈥� he said.鈥�With a report from Christine O. Avenda帽o
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