Abuse of the privileged hour

Media

Part of The Lawyers Journal

Title
Abuse of the privileged hour
Language
English
Year
1960
Subject
Philippines. House of Representatives.
Political privileges and immunities.
Privileges and immunities (Law)
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
ABUSE OF THE PRIVILEGED HOUR So much internal heat has 1'ecently been genera;Ud by politics that no less than two major expWsi.ons erupted m. Congress during the last days of its special session. The detcmatWn, if we may use the same figure of speech, was such that i't wa.s heard not anly through the length and b"eadth of the Philippines but al.oo abroad to the evident embariassment of the entire Filipino people. Both occurred in the Hall of the House of Repres-entatives and partook of the same nature: prim"leged spe.ech, or the use of the privileged hour. The first was the pri'!Jileged "Lett!Jr to Garcia" by Congressman Sergio Osmeiia, Jr., accusi.ng President Ca.r7os P. Garcia of having raceived somewhere 10 million pe.eos' b?-ibe for his 11eto on the Rice and Corn Nationalization Bill. The second was the vaJ.edictor-y address of Congressman Cipriano Primicia.s, Jr., who is scheduled to be ousted soon if ha is no't yet ousted, impugning the honesty and integrity of three membiers of the S1tpr~me Court, Justices Padilla, Labrador and Angelo Bauti,stc.. wko, in compliance with Article VI, Section 11 , of the Constitution, form a v#al part of the House Electora.l Tribunal upcn designation of the Chief Justice. For the first time after Liberation, three members of the highest tribunal of the land were atlMked on the floor of the. House of Representatives for no other rea,.. son than that in a decision of six to thre.e they decla·red that young Prirnici.as, whn Uiter attacked them vnder the mantel of parliamentary immunity, had not been duly electe.d. Prim~ias pointed out no error com1nitted by the three juNts he was accusing or that the-'IJ had erred in their judgment; it was app~ntly enough to him that they were appointed Supreme Cowrt justice:J by Liberal Presidents, and that the ~ior member 1vho presi.des over the Hauss. Electoral Tribunal is al,. 1.f-gedly his father's ''political arch-rival" in Pangasinan. With aU the riecklessness and aba'tUlcJn of one sure that what M was saying was absolutely privileged and that he crnild not be held accountable for it, Congressman Primicias even forgot that he was casting a reflection on. thie Chief Justice · who under the Constitution i.s directly responsible for the designation of the three Justices it•, the House Elecioral T'1'ibunal. He gave vint to his anger and disappointnient by charg· ing that because they voted with the three Liberal members and not toith the three Nacionalistas, they made thiemselves "unwO'rthy to ?'em.a.in as ·members of the Supreme Court from which they shaul<l volunta1-ily [Jet out 01· g.et thrown out." The language u.sed, in our opinWn, was not only violent and improper but wholly. unparliamentary and it's a pity that the congressman from Pangasinan used it. In th<J same vein, w.e believ.e that, in the absence of any vroof or evidence, the charges hurled against the Justices (Cont'imted on po.91 ' 162) COMPENSATION FOR COUNSEL DE OFICIO In the convention of judges held in May, 1958, EzSenatxn· Vicente J~ Francisco. sugge,stetl the giving of compensation to counsel de oficio, as part of his over~ all proposal to improve tlve administration of ju,st·ice in the Philippines. He pointed out that "almost every day, we see courts appointing counset de oficio for accu$ed who appear witlwut lawyer. Thes~ lawyers de ofieio are required to render service for the defernse of the accused as a necessary service; for the maintenance of public justice. ThetiJ are not paid anything for such service. It 1s said that the remuneration of such extra work must be found in the gene1·al income of his profession of which it is one of the incidents. Thi.s view is not consistent with sound public policy. If the State pays to convict its guilty subjects, it shoitld al.so pay counsel to acquit those who are innocent. The State of Nettv Ym·k pays the appointed attorney in capital offenses $1,000. 00. It is sug·gested, therefore, that attorneys de oficio re·ceio11.1e reinuneration from the Government. Only in very ra1·e cases do attorneys de oficio render their services 1dth enthusiasm. They usually ask for postponemm:t of t:ial be~ause they have to attend to ca.aes f01· whu:h. thei-1· services have been paid. By giving remu11eration to suck lawyers, we will help rnany young lawyers make a living out of their profession. As everybody knowtJ., the law profession is overcrowded and many lawyers cannot live on what they iearn from their pract~oe, and eventually they are compelled to accetpt posit·1.ons as clerks, police officers or civil service men." Congrnss recently (August 1, 1959) enacted into law Ex-Senator Francisco's proposal and is now P--m.bodied hi Republic Act No. 2613, mnending Republic Act 296, the perUnent portion of which reads as follows: "SEC. 6. Disposition of moneys paid into court. - All moneys accruing to the Governm.ernt in the Supreme Court, in the Court of Ap-peals, and in the Co.urts of First Instance, including fees, fines, forJe:itures, costs, ,or. other miscellaneous receipts, and all trust or deposttory funds paid into such courts shall be received by the corresponding clerk of court and, in the absence of special provision shall be paid by him into the NatiOnal Treasury f.o the credit of the proper account or fund and under such regulation.~ as shal,l be prescribed by the Auditor General: Provided, however, That twenty .per c~nt of all f(es collected shall be set aside as special fund for the compensation of attorneys de oficio as may be provid€d for in the rules of court." Unfortunately, however, the laudable objective of the law has th'US far remained unattained because no provision in the Rules of Court has yet been made for its imple· men'tation, as requfred by the Act. The e-nactmen-t of implementing rules is therefore imperative. June 30, 1960 LAWYERS JOURNAL JG! PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS' I am keenly sensible of the high honor this assembled body has paid to me and to my oountry by inviting me to be present hHe and to addrE!SS this body, a body representing the political leadership of a great republic in the Asian sector. I am indeed overwhelmed by ~our kindness and I can say only "Mabuhay!" (Applause), You will understand the flood o( memories that swept ovet· me on coming back to this land, where I feel that I am revisiting a11 old home _ and old friends and renewing ties of long standing. Here my wife and I sprnt _ four happy years, making friendships that we shall ever cherish. Herc our son went to school and grew into young manhood. Here I saw the first beginnings of this Republic and worked with men whose vision of g!-eatness for the people of the Philippines has been matched by its realization. Through many days I could talk of life as I knew it hern a quarter of a century ago. Fo1· hours on end I could make comparisons of what was in those days and what is now. Bu-t I have only minutes in which I c.an address myself to the subject. Even in the short space I have been here, however, I have been struck by the vigor and progress that is evident everywhere. I see around me a city reconstructed out of the havoc and dest:·uction of a world war. I know of the Binga Dam; and the Maria Cristina Power and Industrial Complex; the Mindanao highway system ; rural electrification; the disappearance of epidemic diseases; the amazing growth of Manila industry. Everywhel'e is inespablc physical evidence of energy and dedication and a surging faith in the future. But of deeper significance is the creation here of a functioning democracy-a sovcl'· eign people directing thci1· own destinies; a sovereign people con. cuned with their responsibilities in the community of nations. Those responsibilities you have discharged magnificently even as you toiled to rebuild and to glorify your own land. Certainly, we Americans salute Philippine pa!·ticipat:on in the Korean war; the example set the whole free world by the Filipino nurses and doctors who went to Laos and Vietnam on Operation Brotherhood; your contribution to SEATO and the defense of your neighbors against aggression; your charter membership and dynamic leadership in the Unit.ed Nations; your active efforts to achieVe closer aultural and economic relations with other Southeast Asian countries. The stature of the Hepublic of the Philippines on the world scene is the creation of it-s own people---of their skill; their imagination; their courage; and above all, their commitment to freedom . But their aspirations would have gone unl'ealized were they not animated by a spirit of nationalism, of a patriotic love of their own land and its independence, which united and directed them and their efforts. •Text of the addl'""S by t'NlOlidenl Dwight D. Eiacnhower before " s1>e,,ial join! aeuiott of the Senate nnd the H ouse or Repr<"Senta.tives. Manila, the Philippines, .1unel5, 1960. ABUSE . . (Continued from page 161) were 11tte1·l71 false and irresponsible. We a!free with an En,qlish writer when he 1·emarked that a iudge 01· a just-i~e puts off his relation!i to anybody when he puts on ?is robes, and that no bulge howeve1· hon1est and prudent w. a?ove criticism. But precis~l?f because judges fall within the purview of public c1·iticism, i1tmost care shou'rl. always be taken, because of the delicate nature of their This spirit was described by your late great leader and my Jl('l'SOnal friend, Manuel Quezon, when he with great eloquence said: "Rightly conceived, felt and practised, nationalism is a tremendous force for good. It strengthens and solidifies a nation. It preserves the best traditions ;)f the past and adds zest to the ambition of enlarging the inheritance of the people. It is, therefo1e, a dynamic urge for continuous self-improvement. In f ine, it enriches the sum total of mankind's cultural, moral, and material pos5essions through the individual and characteristic contribution of each people." Significantly, President Quezon liad this caution to offer. '·So Jong as the nationalistic sentiment is not fostered to the point whel'e a people forgets that it forms a part of the human family; that the good of mankind should be the ultimate aim of eac:h and eve1·y nation; and that Conflicting national interests are only temporary; R"nd that there is always a just formula for adjusting them- nationalism then he said, is .'.l. noble, elevating and most beneficial sentiment . " In theSe words of clarity and timeless wisdom, President Q11,..1.0n spuke a message fovever applicable to human a_ ffairs, partiCl:lady fitted to the circumstances of this era . Nationalism is a mighty and a relentless force. No conspirncy of power, no compusion of arms can stifle it forever. The <~onstructive nationalism defined' by Pl'esident Quezon is a noble, rcrsistent. fiery inspirntion; essential lo the development of a young nation. Within this ideal my own country since its earliest days has striven to achieve the American dream and destiny. We respect this quality in our sister nation. Communist leaders fear constructive nationalism as a mortal foe . This fear is evident in the continuing efforts of the Comr.1unist conspiracy to penetrate nationalists' movements, to pervert them, and to pirate them for their own evll objectives. To dominate-if they can-the eternal impulse of national patriotism, they use force and threats of fo-1·cc, subvc-11 sion and bribery, propaganda and spurious promises . They deny the dignity of men and have subjected man.y millions to the execution of master plans dictated in faraway places . Communism demands subservience to a single ideology, to a straight jacket of ideas and approaches and methods. Freedom of individuals or nations, to them is intolerable. But free men, free nations, make their own rules to fit their own needs within a universally accepted frame of justice and law. Under freedom, thriving sover-cign nations of diverse political, economic and social systems are the basic healthy cells that make up a thriving world commuriity. Freedom and independenr'e for each is in the interest of all. F or that very reason- in our own enlightened self-interest in the interest of all our frirnds-the purpose of American as. sistance programs is to protect the right of nations to develop the political and social instittition of their own choice. None, we lielieve, should have to accept the extremist solutious under the position, that whatever is said against them is based on solid fact and not on ,<;pite. And when a congressman in a priviliqed speech a.tt(},Cks the-m, riaht ·in the hall of the con.oress, where they cannot defend themselves, his parliarrumtary irnniunity makes it an oblipq,tion of honor for him to exercise such privilege with the fullest sense of respons·ibility. 162 LAWYERS JOURNAL June 30, Hl60