SC admits pressure; people's initiative ruling out by month's end

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said on Wednesday that the high court will likely rule on the proposed people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution by the end of the month. Panganiban said the SC will hold a special en banc session on the issue on Oct. 25 to 29. "We will try to finish it by end of next week because it is a very important matter and we want to put an end to this very important issue," said Panganiban, who attended the opening of a forum in Makati attended by jurists from throughout the world. Panganiban also admitted that there was pressure from the interested parties but vowed that it would not influence the high court's decision. "Yes, there is pressure from people who are interested but the court is used to pressure. This will not impede the court in deciding the case," Panganiban said. The petition was filed by the Sigaw ng Bayan led by its spokesman Raul Lambino and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) led by its president and Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado to use people’s initiative for Charter change. Panganiban said the high court will treat the petition of Sigaw and ULAP to reverse the ruling last Aug. 31 of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) junking the plea in "the same way (the SC) treated high profile cases in May with importance." Last May, the SC ruled on the questions on constitutionality of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s issuance of Presidential Proclamation 1017, Executive Order (EO) 464 and the calibrated preemptive response (CPR) policy. The three-day forum attended by Panganiban and opened by SC Associate Justice Reynato Puno, had the theme "safeguarding the liberty and nurturing prosperity for the peoples of the world." The forum was attended by jurists, including 12 Chief Justices, from 33 countries. -GMANews.TV