Rape of the Judiciary

Title

Creator

Macapagal, Diosdado

Language

English

Source

The Lawyers Journal Volume XIX (Issue No.6) June 30, 1954

Year

1954

Subject

Macapagal, Diosdado -- 1910-1997

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

RAPE OF THE JUDICIARY BY' REP. DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL Among the piling !'ills of the party in power can be included the enactment into law of H. Bill No. 1961 which, in the guise of judicial reorganization, will remove from office thirty. three judges at large and cadastral judges. The pica of the op11osition to avoid this rape of the judiciary fell on majority ears that have become deaf to the call of justice but keen in hearkening to the siren call of political patrc>nage to create positions for office-hungry political proteges. The remo\•al of these judges tramples upon the constitution. It plunges a dagger into the heart flf judicial independence. It directly transgresses the constitutional JH'O''ision providing' that "The members of the Supreme Comt ::ind all judges of infel'ior courts shall hold office during good beha.vior, until they reach the aie of seventy years, or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office.'' Dr. Jose M. Aruego, chronicler of the proceedings of the eonstitutional convention, attests that this provisio1~ is the sinew that gives strength to judicial independence: "The convention i;ought to secure the independence of the judiciary through the provisions tc the effect (1) that the members of the Supreme Court and ::ill judges of inferior courts shall hold office during good bdw.vior, until they rez.ch the age of seventy years, or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office." The party in power invokes the power of Congress to create inferior courts under the constitutional provision 1hat: "The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as may be established by law." But in the words of Justice Jose P. Laurel in the case of "Zandueta vs. de la Costat 6li Phil. 615, "the principles embodied in these two sections of the same article of the s:onstitution musl be coordinated and harmonized." Justice Laurel said further: "Cases may arise whert! the violation of the constitution regarding security of judicial tenure is palpable and plain, and that legislative power of reorganization may be sought to cloak an unconstitutional and evil purpose. When a case of that kind arises, it will be time to make the hammer fall and heavily.'' The case en\'iSagcd by Dr. L::iurel has arisen in this measure. REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1186 . business appertaining t~ the Court of First Instance (If said dis. trict shall be equitably distributed amcng the judges of the eighteen branches, in such manner as shall be agreed upon by the judges themselves; but in pr0ceeding to i;uch distribution of the ordinary cases, a smaller _,,hare shall be assigned to the fourth branch, due & ccount being taken of the amount of land registratiOH work which may be 1·equired of this branch: Providecl, however, That at. least four branches each year shall be assigned by rotation to try only criminal cases. "Nothing contained in this section and in section sixty-three sh2.ll be construed to prevent the temporary designation of judges to act in this district in accordance with scclion fifty-cme." SEC. 2. Whenever the w .. ll"ds "J udgc-at-Larg:!" or "Cadas.tral J udge" appear in Republic Act Numbered Two huudred ninety. six, the same shall read "District J udge". SEC. 3. All the present district judges shall continue e.s such, but if any district judge is commissioned for the Courts of First Instance of two provinces, and a sepa1·a.te J.istrict judge has been provided for herein for one of such courts, the former shall The pui·pose of tl1is enactment is avowedly to prevent the transfer judges of first instance from one province to another known as "rigodon de jueces." This objective can be carried out without removing the present judges by. changing their designation and prohibiti11g their transfer except within the same judicial district. The power to create courts must be exercised without remo\'ing the inc1.nnbent judges, particularly where their removal is not css:ential to thE' purpose of the judicial reorganization. It follows that the removal of the incumbent judges is a politic::i.l move made at the sacrifice of judicial independence which is c::insecrat1::d in the fundamental law. This assault on the constitution by the ruling party is aggravated by the fact that in paragraph V of Lhe 1953 Nacionalista platform, the party committed itself solemnly "to maintain an independent judiciary." By its consistency in reversing its election pledges, the uew Nacionalista p'lrty m::iy yet go down in our fl'Jlitical history as the '!Jarty of broken promises. Wi\h the precedent establishec! in this bill, ev'.:!ry new party in power will follow this infamous example, abolish the positioJns of incumbent judges, and empltly its own men. Secmity of judicial t~nure therehy become~ a fiction. J udges will be induced to takP. sides in political fights knowing lhat their stay in office will depend on which party will win. J udicial independ~nce is thereby com1 ertcd into sycophancy to the political gods. This political assault on the courts also partakes of cruelty and ingr~titndc if it is considered that before the election the N:iC'ionalista party hailed the judiciary as truly the last bulwark of democn1.cy against the alleged tyranny of the past administration for deciding case after case involving acts of the Liberal administration against the latter. Now that the N':lcionalista party won partly through the moral support of the judiciary, it seeks to transform the latter from n. bulwark of democracy into political bvoty. The pi·ostitution of the judicial independence by the majority party not OHly a1·ouses the conscience ngainst this conversion of the constitution into a scrap of paper to sati2.te a lust for political patronage, but also induces despair at the cryst::i.lizing truth that there has been a change of adminiio.trution but no change in official morality. have the option to select the court over which he shall <;ontinue to preside and notify the Presid:mt of his selection within a rca. sonable time. If the number of branches in any Court of First Instance has been increased, the district judge presiding over any branch thereof in a particular place shall continue to preside ove1 such branch notwithstanding a change in its number under thP pl'Ovisions of this Act. All the existing poi:;itions of J udges-at-Large and Cadastral J udges arc abolished, :md section fift>'-three of Republic Act Num. bcrcd Two h1u1drcd ninety-six is hereby repealed. SEC. 4. Any judge.at-largo:! 01· cadastral judge who shall not be appointed as district judge by virtue of the provisions of this Act, shall be given a gratuity in an amount of one month's salary for each year of service of such judge, the. total amount not to exceed the salary for one year. The sum necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act is hereby appropriated. SEC. 5. This Act shall tab effect upon· its approval. Approved, 316 THE LAWYERS JOURNAL June 30, 1954

pages

316

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