Supreme Court shines as beacon of hope

Inquirer 08/01/2007

As a citizen and retired judge, I cannot help but express my thoughts in these troubled times. In what seems to be a bleak and darkening social landscape, bless us all, the luminous and resonant presence of the Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Reynato Puno — a leadership that is brave and bold and benevolent — now fortunately stands tall, its message loud and clear.

Where the other two branches of government seem to be faltering and feckless in their duties and obligations to protect the people from political killings and forced disappearances, the Court has emerged and loomed as a beacon of hope, a true citadel of justice, a sanctuary for people whose civil liberties and inherent rights are under threat.

The purpose of government is to “preserve man, his liberty and property,” “men being by nature all free, equal and independent”; their rights, derived from the “laws of Nature and Nature’s God,” are therefore “inalienable rights,” as the American people’s Declaration of Independence, aptly put it; also “preferred rights” or “enforceable rights,” as the Philippine constitutional law so classifies them.

The call of Chief Justice Puno for the judiciary to exercise its special power (Inquirer, 7/17/07) to protect the basic rights of Filipinos could not but calm the anxieties and fears of the people.

“I shall do that which shall be fit for a judge to do” — one now recalls what Sir Edward Coke, chief magistrate of England in the 17th century, uttered before King James I, when asked whether a judge ought not to first consult the king in a case involving royal prerogative.

Just the same, the executive, led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the legislature should continue to busy themselves with promoting the economic rights of the numerous “descamisados” [unclothed] and the powerless.

EDMUNDO H. ESCALANTE, former president, Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Sorsogon Chapter