Why CJ Sereno should not appear before the House
In the same manner that the Congress should not summon the President of the Philippines to any House or Senate investigation (in aid of legislation), we strongly believe, with due respect, that the House Committee on Justice should not summon the chief magistrate of the land. And if invited, she should continue to decline. She would only be feasted on by filibustering politicians. An assault against the president is an attack against the institution of the presidency. An insult against the chief justice is an assault against the institution of the highest court of the land. We should not allow that kind of travesty to the nation's highest court. They could do that to Erap who was not a lawyer. But what they did to CJ Renato Corona should not be done to the lady chief.
I am not an apologist of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. She does not even know me from Adam. But as a member of the Bar, I feel a certain degree of discomfort for the chief justice to be grilled by some traditional politicians who have only their own narrow agenda to push. This is not good for the country. Nothing is good for the country if and when politicians would only ask very insulting questions, and the whole exercise could be seen by all via national television. Nothing positive is achieved if a grave insult is going to be heaped at the number one symbol of the nation's administration of justice. The proceedings could only demean the judiciary and people are most probably going to lose respect for the courts of justice.
It is the perfect right of the chief justice not to appear before the House, and I don't think that Congress shall risk a constitutional crisis by insisting to subpoena the highest magistrate of the land. Congress and the Supreme Court are co-equal and separate. Congress does not have the power to interfere in the manner the Supreme Court conducts its proceedings, nor has the House any right to make the High Tribunal explain why it authorized buying a luxury car for the chief. It is not within the business of Congress to determine whether the chief justice should take the business class or the first-class accommodation aboard airlines when she travels. That is an internal matter in the same manner that the Court does not intervene in the House's and the Senate's internal operation and administration.
The chief justice is right in not appearing before the House, albeit she may decide to appear before the Senate in the actual impeachment trial. To appear in the House will be giving a chance to some traditional politicians who want to filibuster and show off before the whole nation, all at the expense of the dignity of the High Tribunal. Most of the members of the House have already made up their minds and the chief would most probably be tried, even before the actual trial shall begin in the Senate. Most congressmen are already her accusers and her case has been prejudged by many. And so, what is the point appearing before a biased chamber? This is not just about the person of CJ Sereno. This is about the Supreme Court, the last bastion of our freedom and democracy.
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