Bring on the constitutional crisis — House By Gerry Baldo 09/30/2010

Bring on the constitutional crisis — House

By Gerry Baldo 09/30/2010

The fear of a constitutional crisis that could ensue if the House of Representatives committee on justice defies the status quo ante order of the Supreme Court (SC) is not going result in anything nor create a stir among the Filipino people, nor affect them.

This was the pronouncement of House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II who insists that a constitutional crisis between the House and the SC is not going to affect the Filipino people even as he stressed that it is only the SC that is to blame should such a crisis occur.

“There is nothing (that we will do) that will trigger a constitutional crisis, and yet we are being blamed and that we are advocating a constitutional crisis,” Gonzales said yesterday, referring to the SC.

The justice panel headed by Iloilo Rep. Neil Tupas the other day voted 33 to14 in favor of defying the high court’s status quo ante order with one abstention. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said the move was not necessarily a violation of the high tribunal’s order which effectively stopped the panel from pursuing the impeachment complaint filed against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Gonzales also downplayed the alleged impending constitutional crisis as something that will not have adverse effects on the prices of basic commodities..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100930hed2.html