Administration Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago voted against the Trillanes resolution, alleging that it violates the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers, the constitutional doctrine of the independence of the judiciary, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
“This resolution is unnecessary, because the judiciary knows the Rules of Court better than the Senate. It is not beneficial, because it will not influence the judiciary, but may even incur its displeasure. And it is not practical, because the Senate has no army with which to enforce it,” said Santiago, a constitutional law expert, in her speech explaining her vote.
Santiago said that since the Senate is part of the legislative branch of government, the Senate should confine itself to matters that could properly be the subject of lawmaking.
“The question of the detention of a person accused of a nonbailable crime is judicial, not legislative, in nature,” she said.
In her speech, Santiago said that the practice of using the sense of the Senate resolution began in the US Congress where it is used to express Senate opinions on national policy issues only.
“A sense of the Senate resolution is usually used only to express opinions on foreign policy issues. Sometimes it is used in domestic policy issues. But it is never used in judicial issues,” she said.
Santiago said that even the Senate sometimes is in danger of contempt if it expresses an opinion on a case pending in court.
Santiago cited the 1987 decision of the Supreme Court in
Nestle v. Sanchez where the Court prohibited any “attempt to pressure the Court into acting one way or the other in any case pending before it.”
“Grievances, if any, must be ventilated through the proper channels, i.e., through appropriate petitions, motions, or other pleadings,” Santiago quoted from the decision.
Santiago also said that under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, the court should treat Sen. Trillanes in the same way that it treated Rep. Jalosjos in the 2000 case of
People v. Jalosjos.
“Under the doctrine of
stare decisis, the court will stand by precedent and will not disturb a settled point,” Santiago said.
Santiago quoted the
Jalosjos ruling stating that an elective official should not receive different treatment as other prisoners validly confined under the law.
“Congress continues to function well in the physical absence of one or a few of its members,” Santiago quoted from the Supreme Court.
I vote “No” on the Trillanes resolution, on the following grounds:
- It violates the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers.
- It violates the constitutional doctrine of the independence of the judiciary.
- It violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
THIS RESOLUTION VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTIONAL DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS.Our Constitution does not contain an express provision for the separation of powers. But some constitutional law scholars describe the doctrine of separation of powers as “probably the most important principle of government declaring and guaranteeing the liberties of the people.” We imply this doctrine from Articles 6, 7, and 8, which create separate legislative, executive, and judicial departments. Because we merely draw it by implication from these articles, we cannot define the doctrine precisely.
But it is obvious that since the Senate is part of the legislative branch of government, it should confine itself to matters that could properly be the subject of lawmaking. The question of the detention of a person accused of a crime is judicial, not legislative, in nature. To use a sense of the Senate resolution to deal with a case pending in court would be a misuse of the sense of the Senate tradition.
This tradition that we copied from the United States Congress allows that one or both houses of the Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest through freestanding simple or concurrent resolutions (called generically “sense of the House,” “sense of the Senate,” or “sense of Congress” resolutions). These opinions may also be added to pending legislative measures by amendments expressing the views of one or both chambers.
Sense of the House or Senate resolutions take the form of simple resolutions because they only require the approval of one chamber. “Sense of” resolutions are considered under the normal legislative processes of each chamber applicable to any other legislative vehicle. Because “sense of” resolutions do not involve the expenditure of public funds, such resolutions when reported from House committees are placed on the House calendar. Typically, the House considers them through suspension motions, unanimous consent requests, or by special rules. The Senate normally takes up “sense of” resolutions through unanimous consent requests or, more infrequently, they are automatically laid before the Senate under the “resolutions, over, under the Rule” process (Senate Rule XIV of the U.S. Senate).
A “sense of” resolution is not legally binding because it is not presented to the President for her signature. Even if a “sense of” provision is incorporated into a bill that becomes a law, such provisions merely express the opinion of Congress or the relevant chamber. They have no formal effect on public policy.
A sense of the Senate resolution is non-binding legislation that simply offers the opinion of the body but does not make law. Although often purely symbolic in nature, such resolution can also indicate which way the Senate is likely to head on other legislation.
Sense of resolutions and amendments expressing the sense of one or both houses of Congress have covered many issues. A survey of “sense of” resolutions and amendments offered during the 105th Congress of the U.S. shows that most of them focused on foreign policy matters, particularly resolutions that express the sense of the Senate. However “sense of” proposals have also addressed domestic policy issues, such as calling for certain federal agencies or officials to take specified action or to refrain from some action.
When members of the House, Senate or entire Congress want to "send a message," or state an opinion, they try to pass a "sense of" resolution. Since such resolutions do not create law, what good are they?
Simple or joint resolutions expressing the "sense of" the Senate, House or Congress merely express a majority opinion. They do not make law and are not enforceable. Only bills and joint resolutions create laws.
"Sense of" legislation can come in the form of Simple Resolutions (H.Res. or S.Res.), used to express the opinion of the House or Senate alone, or as Concurrent Resolutions (H.Con.Res. or S.Con.Res.) used to express the opinion of the entire Congress. "Sense of" resolutions can also be added as amendments to regular House or Senate bills. Even when added to regular bills, "sense of" amendments have no force of law.
"Sense of" resolutions are typically used as:
- For the record: a way for individual members of Congress to go on the record as supporting or opposing a particular policy or concept;
- Political persuasion: a simple attempt by a group of members to persuade other members to support their cause or opinion;
- Appeal to the president: an attempt to get the president to take or not take some specific action (such as S.Con.Res. 2, considered by Congress in January 2007, condemning President Bush's order sending over 20,000 additional U.S. troops into the war in Iraq.),
- On foreign affairs: a way to express the opinion of the people of the United States to the government of a foreign nation; and
- Just saying "thanks": a way to send the congratulations or gratitude of Congress to individual citizens or groups. For example, congratulating U.S. Olympic champions or thanking military troops for their sacrifice.
"Sense of" resolutions require only a simple majority vote to pass and, since they do not create laws, do not require the signature of the president.
Although "sense of" resolutions have no force in law, foreign governments pay close attention to them as evidence of shifts in U.S. foreign policy priorities.
Finally, no matter how momentous or threatening the language used in "sense of" resolutions may be, remember that they are merely a political tactic and create no laws, whatsoever.
SECOND GROUND.
THIS RESOLUTION VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTIONAL
DOCTRINE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY. A group of litigants held a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court building. The Court ordered them to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court. The litigants apologized, and the Court dismissed the contempt charges. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Nestle v. Sanchez, 154 SCRA, 542 (1987) issued per curiam:
The court will not hesitate in future similar situations to apply the full force of the law and punish for contempt those who attempt to pressure the Court into acting one way or the other in any case pending before it. Grievances, if any, must be ventilated through the proper channels, i.e., through appropriate petitions, motions or other pleadings in keeping with the respect due to the Courts as impartial administrators of justice entitled to “proceed to the disposition of its business in an orderly manner, free from outside interference obstructive to its functions and tending to embarrass the administration of justice.”
The right of petition is conceded to be an inherent right of the citizen under all free governments. However, such right, natural and inherent though it may be, has never been invoked to shatter the standards of propriety entertained for the conduct of courts. For “it is a traditional conviction of civilized society everywhere that courts and juries, in the decision of issues of fact and law should be immune from every extraneous influence; that facts should be decided upon evidence produced in court; and that the determination of such facts should be uninfluenced by bias, prejudice or sympathies.”
Moreover, “parties have a constitutional right to have their causes tried fairly in court by an impartial tribunal, uninfluenced by publication or public clamor. Every citizen has a profound personal interest in the enforcement of the fundamental right to have justice administered by the courts, under the protection and forms of law free from outside coercion or interference.” The aforecited acts of the respondents are therefore not only an affront to the dignity of this Court, but equally a violation of the above-stated right of the adverse parties and the citizenry at large.
THIRD GROUND.
THIS RESOLUTION VIOLATES THE EQUAL
PROTECTION CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION.The
lis mota of this resolution has already been settled by the Supreme Court in the case of
People v. Jalosjos, 324 SCRA 698 (2000). Under the doctrine of res judicata, a matter once judicially decided is finally decided. Under the doctrine of judicial precedent, a decision of the court furnishes an authority for a similar case afterward arising on a similar question of law. Under the doctrine of
stare decisis, the court will stand by precedent and will not disturb a settled point. Stare decisis et non quieta movere. Adhere to precedents, and do not unsettle things which are established. In
Jalosjos, the Supreme Court ruled:
What the accused-appellant seeks is not of an emergency nature. Allowing accused-appellant to attend congressional sessions and committee meetings for five (5) days or more in a week will virtually make him a free man with all the privileges appurtenant to his position. Such an aberrant situation not only elevates accused-appellant’s status to that of a special class, it also would be a mockery of the purposes of the correction system.
The accused-appellant avers that his constituents in the First District of Zamboanga del Norte want their voices to be heard and that since he is treated as bona fide member of the House of Representatives, the latter urges a co-equal branch of government to respect his mandate. He also claims that the concept of temporary detention does not necessarily curtail his duty to discharge his mandate and that he has always complied with the conditions/ restrictions when he is allowed to leave jail.
When the voters of his district elected the accused-appellant to Congress, they did so with full awareness of the limitations on his freedom of action. They did so with the knowledge that he could achieve only such legislative results which he could accomplish within the confines of prison. To give a more drastic illustration, if voters elect a person with full knowledge that he is suffering from a terminal illness, they do so knowing that at any time, he may no longer serve his full term in office.
Does being an elective official result in a substantial distinction that allows different treatment? Is being a Congressman a substantial differentiation which removes the accused-appellant as a prisoner from the same class as all persons validly confined under law?
The performance of legitimate and even essential duties by public officers has never been an excuse to free a person validly in prison. The duties imposed by the "mandate of the people" are multifarious. The accused-appellant asserts that the duty to legislate ranks highest in the hierarchy of government. The accused-appellant is only one of 250 members of the House of Representatives, not to mention the 24 members of the Senate, charged with the duties of legislation. Congress continues to function well in the physical absence of one or a few of its members. Depending on the exigency of Government that has to be addressed, the President or the Supreme Court can also be deemed the highest for that particular duty. The importance of a function depends on the need for its exercise. The duty of a mother to nurse her infant is most compelling under the law of nature. A doctor with unique skills has the duty to save the lives of those with a particular affliction. An elective governor has to serve provincial constituents. A police officer must maintain peace and order. Never has the call of a particular duty lifted a prisoner into a different classification from those others who are validly restrained by law.
The Supreme Court, therefore, find that election to the position of Congressman is not a reasonable classification in criminal law enforcement. The functions and duties of the office are not substantial distinctions which lift him from the class of prisoners interrupted in their freedom and restricted in liberty of movement. Lawful arrest and confinement are germane to the purposes of the law and apply to all those belonging to the same class.”
CONCLUSIONThis resolution is unnecessary, because the judiciary knows the Rules of Court better than the Senate. This resolution is not beneficial, because it will not influence the judiciary, but may even incur its displeasure. And this resolution is not practical, because the Senate has no army with which to enforce it.
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