House panel to issue show cause order vs. CA justices handling ‘Ilocos 6’ case

The House Committee on Good Government on Tuesday ruled to issue a show cause order against the three justices of the Court of Appeals who issued a release order for the six detained employees of the Ilocos Norte provincial government.

The motion, made by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, was approved via unanimous vote, 30-0.

The order will be addressed to the CA Special Fourth Division, including its acting presiding justice Stephen Cruz and members Justices Erwin Sorongon and Nina Antonino-Valenzuela, who will be asked to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for issuing the release order for the so-called “Ilocos 6.”

In his motion, Umali noted that the CA is “an inferior court” and not a co-equal branch of the House of Representatives.

“When an officer of Congress is now being required to show cause, this will equally warrant show cause of these justices, who unwarrantedly issued the resolution and caused the issuance of the release order,” he said.

“I am constrained to also move that we require the three justices of the Court of Appeals be equally required to show cause before this Committee so we would now be able to better understand powers of the three independent, co-equal branches of government,” Umali added.

The House panel’s show cause order will be made in response to the one issued by the CA special division against Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the House sergeant-at-arms, retired Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali, following the chamber’s refusal to release the employees, citing lack of jurisdiction.

The division has started its contempt of court proceedings against Alvarez and Detabali.

Alvarez, a lawyer, has scored the justices over this, noting their “gross ignorance of the law.” He is now batting for the dissolution of the appellate court. —KBK, GMA News