The difference SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 03/25/2010

The difference

SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 03/25/2010 A congressman has announced the start of a signature campaign among House members to impeach the nine Supreme Court (SC) justices of the De Castro majority. Without intending to, the fellow has supplied yet another reason justices of the SC are treated “special” in the context of the midnight appointments ban: unlike the justices and judges of the other appellate collegial courts and the lower courts — only SC justices are liable for impeachment. This is another one of the constitutional safeguards for judicial independence, together with the establishment of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). Different minds. In deconstructing De Castro vs JBC, commentators latch on to different “pet” ratios to agree with or to treat as cassus belli. In the days and weeks to come, an avalanche of commentary, predominantly critical, will surely sustain the public debate on the merits of the decision. Healthy? Yes. When the best legal minds differ, the resultant fireworks that ignite serve only to refine articulated positions that benefits us all in the end. Dangerous? Of course. Given the pressure cooker atmosphere of the presidential campaign, every controversial decision is fodder for opportunism — from the administration (holdover and takeover scenarios), opposition (again Senator Noynoy and his brinkmanship declarations) and, as Gen. Danny Lim has reminded us, the military.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100325com4.html

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