By Amado P. Macasaet
President Aquino cannot seem to live down what he might feel is a personal affront on his reputation and honor because of the Supreme Court decision that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and later the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) are unconstitutional.
He openly defended the DAP by saying he spent the money for the people although it is widely known the P50 million in “bribes” he gave to the senators who voted for the conviction of Renato Corona was drawn against the funds of the DAP.
He seemed to have relented, at least temporarily as it later turned out, by saying he would seek a supplemental budget to replace the illegal DAP. The silence appears to be a ruse.
The President is in a bind. The Chief Justice he picked over the heads of senior jurists and who he knew would stay in the job far beyond his term disappointed him in two cases where he feels his reputation and sincerity was held in doubt although he insists he spent the DAP money for the public good.
While not openly saying much about what he believes to be betrayal by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno, the President is escalating his “war” with the Chief Justice, not exactly with the Supreme Court.
His crisis is he does not have anybody to blame but himself. He appointed her. But she failed him by her refusal or inability to herd her peers towards upholding the constitutionality of the DAP.
The Chief Justice made the decision unanimous by not dissenting. She joined the majority who were appointed by former President Gloria Arroyo. And to think that the President thought the mind of the new Chief Justice would swing the Court in his favor.
It turned out she was against him, in the DAP case, anyway. He is paying for the mistake of appointing Mrs. Sereno as Head Magistrate. She is an ingrate who must pay for her “sins.” But the President cannot do much about it. He would openly admit the mistake if he quietly takes steps towards impeaching her.
On the contrary, he should stop any move in that direction. He appointed Mrs. Sereno in the firm belief that she would be behind him all the way.
The President caused the conviction of Chief Justice Renato C., Corona. He would disembowel himself if he supports the impeachment of the Head Magistrate he appointed to replace Corona who he believed not without reason or logic would get the Court to acquit the former leader of crimes of plunder and corruption.
If Chief Justice Sereno’s refusal to dissent in the DAP case is any indication, the President may have started feeling she is unreliable as far as the cases of Malacañang are concerned.
She has to pay for her sins. She has to be shamed.
The Chief Justice is now facing a probe by the House of the Representatives on her alleged misuse of the Judicial Development Fund. The inquiry would not happen if the President did not allow it. He controls the House of Representatives.
In a manner of speaking, the President is escalating his “war” with the Chief Justice, not exactly with the Supreme Court. The inquiry will likely harden Mrs. Sereno all the more. She will serve under three Presidents.
It now appears clear that President Aquino failed to do a thorough “due diligence” job on Mrs. Sereno before appointing her. As if that were not enough, the President is fighting her, a fight or war he can never win.
The President is skinning the Chief Justice in many wrong ways. As if the smaller percentage share of the budget of the Supreme Court were not enough insult, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupaz is proposing the abolition of the JDF. Mrs. Sereno has not been heard as objecting.
It is acknowledged that the powers of the President is vast they can extend to the Supreme Court, to the Chief Justice anyway. The Chief Justice is bullheaded in a few things that do not promote cooperation with her peers.
In this sense, she is a thorn in the side of the other members of the Court. She is a bigger thorn in the side of the President.
Be that as it may, Mrs. Sereno is of flesh, blood and emotions. She did not aspire for the job. Being Chief Justice is not the be-all of her life. She can be made to understand that she does not have the qualities of a leader as shown by the
fact that she has most of the time been in the minority. This fact does not help the Court or the President himself.
If the President can summon the virtue of humility and treat the Chief Justice as an equal, a skillful frank, honest conversation leading her to believe she should quit the Court for her own sake has an excellent chance of succeeding.
It would be to her credit if she leaves the Court and explain to all she cannot work under pressure from the President. True, she will never surrender her independence. However, that independence is owed to the President who appointed her. She has to come to grips with this fact, not exactly for the benefit of the President but for effective leadership in the Court.
The President did not give much thought to the fact that appointing Mrs. Sereno as Head Magistrate denied the other justices the chance or at least hope of becoming chief even for a short period.
The next President will appoint 11 members of the Supreme Court. They will all be retired before Mrs. Sereno comes close to the end of her tenure.
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Email: amadomacasaet@yahoo.com
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