Erasing A Stigma, Assaulting The Supreme Court

Written on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am | by Ding G. Gagelonia

Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera is wrapping up her stint as top government barrister with a bang.

Tipped to ‘ascend’ to the Suopreme Court, Devanadera delivered a sharp twit to the high tribunal for allegedly violating the separation of powers in declaring the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity ancestral domain agreement unconstitutional.

Devanadera’s broadside reads like a preview of a makeover given that there will at least 7 vacancies in the Puno court between now and 2010.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s ’stamp’ on the Court will certainly go beyond her scheduled departure from office in 2010.

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About The Author: Ding G. Gagelonia is a journalist of some 30 years, having worked in both radio and TV news and public affairs since his teens. Ding Gagelonia now writes independently and does corporate communications consulting. He has two kids, Felice and Luis. His journalist blog is at midfield.wordpress.com

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11 Responses to “Erasing A Stigma, Assaulting The Supreme Court”

  1. Jon Limjap on November 7th, 2008 11:03 am

    BS!

    Wasn’t the constitutionality of the agreement the sole purpose of the SC ruling?

  2. The EQualizer on November 7th, 2008 11:12 am

    Ding:

    The destruction of our democratic institutions remains unabated!

    EQ

  3. Ding G. Gagelonia on November 7th, 2008 11:20 am

    Jon, EQ,

    The outgoing president assuming she indeed goes out, will leave that dubious legacy in the guise of upholding the separation of powers principle. CJ Puno must bristle with the prospect that he is being minimized. Remember his vote spelled the doom of MoA-AD.

  4. leytenian on November 7th, 2008 11:42 am

    Honestly, she is right. I am so curious why Department of Agrarian Reform is not involved with this agreement. Implementation of a truly autonomous Mindanao starts with the Land and economic zoning to identify which area will be declared as residential, commercial, agricultural, government owned and recreational. It sounds like our government don’t have no idea what’s next of MOA-AD.

    “But as we have already mentioned, there is nothing wrong with completing the CARP process until the end of 2008. One reason why the DAR people are not performing their tasks is that the feet of the agrarian reform secretary appear to be planted on the high grounds of power, not on the low level fields under CARP, which are his turf,”
    Land Reform Program at Stand Still despite Available Funds

  5. as a private citizen on November 7th, 2008 2:56 pm

    its kind of ironic that SC checks the affairs of an adventurous executive branch, when the SC itself has also been adventurous on the concept of justicable issues..

  6. jcc on November 7th, 2008 8:46 pm

    “The SC went after an abandoned and unsigned draft of the MOA-AD and breached the barrier between the Executive and the Judiciary by chasing after and deliberately targeting an abandoned and unsigned draft document” This indicates “a future trend of court interference in areas exclusive to the other branch of government”. Solicitor Banavera.

    Anyone against the Supreme Court is my ally. But you can remove my bias and hear out my argument.

    The SC is not the only repository of good conduct and good governance and it should remain apolitical.

    Thus cases that go to the Supreme Court on Certiorari must be reviewed only if the following are met:

    1. there is a justiciable issue
    2. party has standing
    3. issue is not moot
    4. presence of jucidially manageable standard to pontificate.

    Where an issue involves the other branch of government, the Court by jurisprudence normally refrain from passing judgment on the executive act because by doing otherwise, it is actually passing judgment on an issue whose resolution is left to the executive department that is better equipped to address the issue. It has become to be known as a “political” issue doctrine.

    But in the case of the abandoned MOA-AD, the court is no longer at liberty to discuss it because it has been “mooted” and the Court’s opinion becomes “advisory”, a sort of an “ongoing instruction by the court” on how the executive should act in the future. Justice Puno, if he wants to be an opposition stalwart must resign his post and run for executive position and he should not be allowed to prostitue the dignity of the Court who could have one member or two that remain distinguished and honest.

    But what can you do? Chief Justice Puno is the most hideous and the most hypocrite Chief Justice that had occupied the Court.

    http://jcc34.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/an-open-letter-to-chief-justice-reynato-s-puno/

  7. Abe N. Margallo on November 8th, 2008 1:07 am

    Except for the ad hominem, I concur with the opinion of Justice Chief C (jcc). I call it Constitutional Law.

  8. Bencard on November 8th, 2008 1:39 am

    the politization of the supreme court is complete. with the impending retirement of almost all the justices, gma will have a chance to reconstitute it and bring it back to its glory days. her action on the matter could yet be the greatest of her legacies, or the worst failure of her presidency.

    then again, she is no diogenes.

  9. jcc on November 8th, 2008 7:58 am

    abe,

    it is ad hominem with factual basis if you ask me. but you were right,. it was ad hominem, but i have my caveat, i have my bias against the SC, and I don’t hide it. :)

  10. Current » Dieu le veult! God wills it! on November 10th, 2008 2:30 pm

    […] too. So the Palace majority will be fortified sooner rather than later. Over At Filipino Voices, Ding Gagelonia recently reported that the Solicitor-General, widely expected to be among the President’s […]

  11. Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose » Today's Dose » God wills it! Dieu le veult! on November 10th, 2008 3:13 pm

    […] too. So the Palace majority will be fortified sooner rather than later. Over At Filipino Voices, Ding Gagelonia recently reported that the Solicitor-General, widely expected to be among the President’s […]

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