THE TUPAS REPRISAL

“The public perception is that vengeance is one of the main reasons why the Tupas committee has decided to push through with the impeachment proceeding against Gutierrez … We should remember that the older Tupas was accused of granting a quarry permit to an unqualified contractor who was said to have partnered with a mining company owned by the in-laws of his son Raul.”

THE TUPAS REPRISAL

Just like Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, vengeance seams to be the "in-thing" in the PH nowadays. Columnist Alvin Capino opines; "It is apparent that House Committee on Justice Niel Tupas, Jr. is unaware or blithely ignores the common public perception that he is leading the rush to push the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to get back at her for the graft cases she filed against him and his father and namesake, former Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas, Sr.

The perception might be far from truth but it is the perception. And perception, as the communication experts say, is the reality.

It would have been best if Tupas Jr. had inhibited himself from chairing the committee for the hearing on the impeachment case of Gutierrez. This had been suggested earlier by no less than Speaker Feliciano Belmonte who, as a lawyer and as a politician, must have realized the possible adverse reaction of having as the active chairman of the committee someone who is known to have an axe to grind against the Ombudsman.

But Tupas refused. Seems he wants Gutierrez to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is payback time.

The public perception is that vengeance is one of the main reasons why the Tupas committee has decided to push through with the impeachment proceeding against Gutierrez despite the fact the Supreme Court has declared that the lifting of the High Tribunal’s status quo ante order issued last September is not yet final and executory.

Supreme Court administrator and spokesman Midas Marquez has made it clear that with the filing by Ombudsman Gutierrez of the motion for reconsideration, the decision of the Supreme Court in this case is not yet final.

Gutierrez submitted her motion for reconsideration last Monday. It was taken up by the Supreme Court en banc last Tuesday but no decision was made. It will be taken up again in next week’s en banc session.

Unlike Tupas, other members of the House who are also lawyers are concerned that the decision of the Justice Committee to push through with the Gutierrez impeachment proceedings despite the pending case with the SC is a violation of Gutierrez’s fundamental right to due process.

Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, both seasoned lawyers, have stressed that it would have been more prudent for the Tupas committee to wait for the resolution of the SC on the motion for reconsideration of Gutierrez.

Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao, who is also a lawyer, said that there is need to give leeway and allowance to the Supreme Court to rule on Gutierrez’s motion.

It is indeed ironic that it is the justice committee of the House of Representatives which have disregarded the basic right of Gutierrez to due process. This committee, more than any other committee in the House of Representatives, should be the first to acknowledge and respect the right to procedural due process of every citizen.
The rule of law protects citizens from arbitrary and abusive use of government power. It is lamentable that the House justice committee has disregarded this in the case of Gutierrez.

It is doubly ironic that it is Tupas who chairs the committee which has blatantly disregarded the rule of law.

We can still remember the time when a suspension order was being served against Tupas’ father who was then governor of Iloilo because of a graft case. Tupas was among those who loudly proclaimed that the suspension order was a violation of the rule of law and due process.

Governor Tupas was able to get an injunction against the implementation of the suspension order and government agencies respected the injunction in adherence to the rule of law.

So why can’t Tupas and his committee give the same respect to the Supreme Court and the rule of law?

Why can’t they wait a few more days?