SC has final say on immunity of impeachable govt officials  –De Lima

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said the Supreme Court has the final say on whether an impeachable official like Vice President Jejomar Binay can enjoy immunity from suit.

 

In a text message from The Hague, De Lima told reporters in Manila that while the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that an impeachable official can only be removed from office by impeachment, it is not clear and "categorical what extent they [impeachable officials] may be subject to prosecutorial action without their impeachability being affected." 

 

"It is still up to the courts, especially the Supreme Court, to categorically decide on whether or not the filing of a criminal charge amounts to a violation of impeachability," she also said..

 

The Justice secretary is part of the Philippine delegation sent to the Netherlands for the jurisdiction proceedings on the Philippine claim over portions of the South China Sea.

 

Under Section 2, Article XI of the Philippine Constitution, impeachable officials include the President, the vice president, members of the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commission and the Ombudsman.

 

De Lima said that in theory, impeachable officials can be subject to criminal proceedings so long as they are not removed from office. The Justice secretary cited cases of Commission on Elections commissioners who were not removed from office despite being cited in contempt by the Supreme Court.

 

"However, the conventional wisdom among lawyers is that any criminal action against an impeachable official can only go so far as filing an information," said De Lima. 

 

De Lima's statement came amid reports quoting legal experts as saying Binay, despite being an impeachable official, could be criminally charged over alleged overpricing in construction projects in Makati during his stint as mayor.  

 

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal had earlier insisted that Binay, Supreme Court magistrates, members of constitutional commission, and the Ombudsman also get the same immunity from suit enjoyed by President Benigno Aquino III.

 

De Lima admitted that problems could arise when an impeachable official is ordered arrested due to a criminal complaint.

 

"The initiation of a criminal case entails the issuance of a warrant of arrest, and this implies restraint on the person of the impeachable official that highly compromises his status as such," she stressed.

 

If ever an impeachable official contests his or her arrest before the Supreme Court, De Lima said the tribunal would most likely side with the impeachable official.

 

"Most probably, the Supreme Court will treat the arrest of an impeachable official as a violation of his status of impeachability," De Lima said.

 

De Lima's statement is seen as a slight step back from her previous categorical statement in October last year that Binay is not immune from suit despite being an impeachable official. 

 

"The principle of immunity from suit applies only to two entities, the State and the President." De Lima  said last year. 

 

"On the other hand, impeachability refers only to the mode of removal, not immunity. Impeachability does not mean immunity. Thus, among the impeachable officials, only the President is immune from suit," she added. 

 

De Lima said that cases could be filed against a Vice President, but he could only be removed by impeachment.

 

“To say that only the President is immune from suit smacks of unjust or invidious discrimination… is violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution,” Macalintal said last May.

 

“Since the President belongs to a similar class of impeachable officials under the Constitution, there is no rhyme or reason why the other constitutional officials cannot enjoy the same immunity privilege,” he added.

 

Binay and his son, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay are facing a plunder complaint before the Ombudsman filed by their political rivals, Renato Bondal and Narciso Enciso VI, in connection with the allegedly overpriced construction of the P2.7-billion Makati City Hall Building II.   — ELR, GMA News