A LAW dean and former governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines on Monday warned that the continuous refusal of the House of Representatives to heed the order of the Court of Appeals to release six employees of the local government of Ilocos Norte might lead to a constitutional impasse.
Jose Vicente Opinion, who is also dean of the Eastern Samar State University College of Law, even suggested that the so-called “Ilocos Six” detainees should elevate their case before the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Marcos family have urged Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos not to attend the hearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on July 25.
They made the call after the House said a detention room was being prepared “just in case” Marcos was cited in contempt and therefore must be detained. It also said a room was ready for the Court of Appeals justices who ordered the release of the Ilocos Six.
“There is a separation of powers among the three branches of government. If the House of Representatives continues to disregard the lawful orders of the Court of Appeals, there will really be a constitutional impasse,” Opinion said.
“The CA should not be bullied. The next best thing for the Ilocos Six is to go to the Supreme Court, which is the only one that can resolve this impasse.”
The six were detained on May 29 by the House committee on good government and accountability that is inquiring into Ilocos Norte’s purchase of motor vehicles amounting to P66.45 million that came from the province’s share of tobacco excise taxes.
They were cited in contempt by lawmakers who accused them of refusing to answer relevant questions.
Opinion said if the purpose of the congressional inquiry was in aid of legislation, then the lawmakers were well within their right to cite the local government employees in contempt.
“But it seems to me the purpose is to investigate an anomaly in the implementation of a law, in which case that is already beyond their jurisdiction,” he said.
He said some statements by lawmakers that undermined the CA’s order for a writ of habeas corpus and for the temporary release of the Ilocos Six had aggravated the situation.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, in particular, has been vocal in rejecting the appellate court’s orders. Instead, the House committee issued a show-cause order requiring the three CA justices why they should not be cited in contempt for ordering the release of the six officials of Ilocos Norte.
The CA’s Special Fourth Division has already started contempt-of-court proceedings against Alvarez and House of Representatives Sgt.-At-Arms Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali for disregarding its three orders.
On June 1, a CA resolution required Congress to file its comment on the case. A day after, the court issued a writ of habeas corpus and ordered Detabali to produce the detained employees. On June 9, the CA issued another resolution granting the petitioners’ request for provisional release provided they posted bail at P30,000 each.
Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Fari’s has also repeatedly threatened the six employees that they might be detained until June 30, 2019, or until the lawmakers are satisfied with their answers.
In their motion before the CA filed on June 23, petitioners Josephine Calajate, Encarnacion Gaor, Genedine Jambaro, Evangeline Tabulog, Pedro Agcaoili Jr. and Eden Battulayan asked the appellate court to resolve their habeas corpus case immediately and to declare their continued detention illegal and a form of torture.
“Four weeks later, with a pending habeas corpus petition and a court order for their release, the petitioners still find themselves without any right to liberty, with no reprieve in sight, and with no recourse to justice. The four weeks that the petitioners have spent in detention is time lost which petitioners could never recover,” the petitioners said in their 18-page motion.