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WITH THE CORONA counsels seeking the Supreme Court intervention to stop the Impeachment Trial on Chief Justice Renato Corona, and the Impeachment Court junking the Santiago motion for reconsideration (MR) against the issuance of subpoena on two banks to furnish the court records of Corona accounts, a showdown is offing between the Senate acting as an impeachment court and the Supreme Court known for its rulings "perceived as not impartial."

There are two good things that will come out of this development. First, it will demand a show on how far the balance of power in the Constitutionally-mandated branches of "democratic republican government" work when such balance is assailed by no less than the Chief of the high court himself. With majority of associate justices known to be Corona allies as far as certain controversial rulings are concerned, there is a strong possibility that the majority of SC justices en banc will favor the petition to stop the impeachment court, at least in an effort to let the Chief Justice get away from the hard corner he is in right now. If associate justices ably justified the midnight appointment explicitly prohibited in the Constitution, who can prevent them from contravening the explicit power that the Constitution bestowed upon the Senate as an Impeachment Court?

But the Senate will not sit down on a SC adverse action against it without a fight. And the people will be fully behind it.

Second, the Santiago MR creates an opportunity for the Philippine judicial system to strengthen its laws to support the Constitutional mandate on the balance of power in the government. It provides the test, the stimulant that allows legislators to later on refine the crude provisions in this part of Philippine laws. In fact, I had a feeling that the ever-wise Senator Miriam Santiago intentionally created a scenario that appears to provide an opening to question the power of the Senate as an Impeachment Court for the higher purpose of strengthening it. And the defense unwittingly gets drawn into it, having been put into a situation that it has to act on an opportunity to win the trial in favor of their client.

The coming days will be more exciting as we watch how the Supreme Court will resolve the question on the supreme power of the Senate as an Impeachment Court. How will it vote? Who will join in the voting? Who will inhibit? How each of the associate justices will vote, and justify that vote? How fast they can act on the petition? Meanwhile, the Impeachment Court proceeds to implement its ruling to subpoena the concerned banks to produce the records.

Perilous times. Exciting days to come.

At the end of the day, our democracy will only grow strong when freedom-loving personalities in our country will stand up and fight off the forces that will attempt to subjugate our freedoms with their sneaky attempts at self-serving manipulations.


This article also appears in Kuro-Kuro.

UPDATES

9 February 2012: The Supreme Court issued a TRO that bars impeachment court from opening the Corona dollar account. But it did not tackle the petition to stop the Corona impeachment trial. [Read Report]
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