Shaming the shameless

Noting the impact of President Marcos’ “mahiya naman kayo” directed at crooks who pocketed flood control funds, some quarters say the call should also be directed at the justices of the Supreme Court.

The SC, according to several top legal experts, has effectively amended constitutional provisions on impeachment.

Human rights lawyers belonging to the Free Legal Assistance Group have described the unanimous ruling as “over-judicializing.” Several retired SC justices are urging the high tribunal to revisit its ruling, which was rendered without even the benefit of oral arguments, in a case with such profound impact.

The ruling looked meant not so much to protect Vice President Sara Duterte, but to protect SC justices, who can be removed only by impeachment. A chief justice, after all, was removed following an impeachment trial (while another was removed by envious peers simply through a quo warranto petition). The SC ruling sets precedents absent in the Constitution that make it harder for the magistrates to be impeached by nasty congressmen.

Earlier, the SC had also led the way in promoting opaqueness, making it tough to get hold of public officials’ statements of assets, liabilities and net worth – a move that was institutionalized by SC justice-turned-unlamented ombudsman Samuel Martires.

Who will investigate SC justices for grave abuse of discretion?

A framer of the Constitution, Christian Monsod, is now suggesting that the SC justices be investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman for “judicial overreach” and abuse of authority, and that VP Duterte be indicted criminally for graft.

Some members of the House of Representatives have made the same suggestions.

This will depend on who will be chosen as the next ombudsman.

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Apart from the House versus the Supreme Court, there could be a brewing falling out between President Marcos and his wife’s buddy, Senate President Chiz Escudero.

After BBM warned in his State of the Nation Address that he would veto any General Appropriations Act that is not in line with his funding agenda, Escudero said the Senate would assert its independence.

Like Malacañang, SP Chiz may also need a communications adviser. While he was correct in asserting that Congress has the power of the purse, considering the public uproar over the 2024 and 2025 GAA, his message comes off as harrumphing that the Senate has every right to mangle the National Expenditure Program of the executive.

Escudero defended the freedom of lawmakers to mangle the budget amid accusations that he was behind a last-minute insertion of P142.7 billion in the 2025 GAA, of which the bulk reportedly went to his home province Sorsogon at P9.1 billion and majority leader Joel Villanueva’s turf Bulacan at P12.08 billion.

Villanueva, incidentally, was shown in a viral video telling Sen. Imee Marcos to move to shut up Sen. Risa Hontiveros during the debates on whether to proceed with VP Sara’s impeachment trial.

Escudero’s assertion of congressional independence could have been worded differently, but perhaps he simply said exactly how he felt about the issue. Give him an A for candor.

His embrace of the causes of the Duterte bloc have won him reelection to the Senate’s top post. If he has his sights set on higher office in 2028, however, he may have won that battle at the expense of the war. These days, even his trophy wife is being targeted by critics.

Possibly to redeem himself, the Senate chief is proposing a law that will ban relatives of public officials up to the fourth degree of affinity or consanguinity from becoming contractors or suppliers of government projects.

All along I thought we already had laws prohibiting such incestuous arrangements between politics and private business. Maybe Escudero’s proposed law intends to broaden the scope of the prohibitions or give them more teeth, because he understands the reality on the ground. He said it himself: lawmakers are among those whose companies bag government contracts.

He said BBM’s son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, wants to sponsor a similar bill at the House. This might dispel speculations about a burgeoning rift with Malacañang.

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There’s a guessing game on who among the lawmakers will emerge as owners of companies that win government contracts. And what the Marcos administration will do about it.

Some of them are quite well known, and as far as I can tell, are now being subjected to close scrutiny, not just for the cancellation of contracts, but also for possible criminal indictments.

If this initiative delivers as promised, BBM will have earned his place in history in an area where he is seen to be weak and compromised, the anti-corruption campaign.

As I wrote following his victory in 2022, his mommie dearest, Imeldific, is home free, despite her seven convictions for graft. If a Duterte wins the presidency in 2028, Imeldific might be tossed behind bars even if she is nearing 100.

These days, justices with an eye for promotion are falling all over themselves to dismiss the multitude of ill-gotten wealth cases against the Marcos family, ostensibly for “inordinate delay” in the prosecution.

The “mahiya naman kayo” message must be applied here: any magistrate who has ever issued a ruling favoring the Marcos family should inhibit from applying for a position that needs BBM’s approval.

As in Congress, however, you can’t tell the shameless to have shame.

Even if caught, the shameless will likely deny the accusations, file charges against the accusers, or defend the right to commit shameless acts. And continue committing the acts.

With the attempt to hold the Vice President accountable derailed by the Supreme Court and the Senate, further weakening our institutions, there is an effort on another front to exact accountability.

Let’s hope the shame campaign in flood control projects will bear fruit, unlike in the impeachment.