Chief Justice Puno: Impeachment bid

MANILA, Philippines – Several groups and individuals expressed support for embattled Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Wednesday, vowing to protect him against moves to have him impeached.

The expressions of support came from multisectoral groups, including lawyers and other private individuals, who also called on other sectors to spare the Supreme Court from politics.

In separate manifestos of support, the Philippine Judges Association (PJA), the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, and the Las Piñas City Judges Association expressed their unqualified and unwavering support for Puno.

A law firm, an SC statement said, also expressed its support and volunteered to act as counsel for the chief magistrate.

The outpouring of support came in the wake of reports saying that the Puno was in danger of being impeached by Congress over the alleged non promulgation of a purported Supreme Court decision in the case of Biraogo versus Nograles and Limkaichong. The case questioned the citizenship of Representative-elect Jocelyn Limkaichong.

The report gave rise to fears that Puno was about to be ousted and that the move was being backed by Malacañang, which was aiming for a more "friendly" Supreme Court.

These same rumors sparked the moves to protect Puno.

The Metropolitan and City Judges Association of the Philippines (MeTCJAP), headed by its Executive vice president, Judge Jaime B. Santiago of the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court, said it would hold an emergency meeting this Friday to discuss its course of action.

In a statement, MeTCJAP said that it "sees the recent events as a political maneuver to destroy the integrity of the Chief Justice and the institution he is representing as a whole."

For its part, the Philippine Judges Association – through its president Antonio M. Eugenio, Jr. – said that the PJA is "opposing any 'contrived plot' against Puno and any attempt to oust him before he retires in May 2010."

The group added that the judiciary "should be spared from 'partisan manipulations' and observer the rule of law"

"More importantly, the PJA makes known its intentions that all legal measures and stops will be taken in order to see to it that the herein support being extended to Chief Justice Puno will be put into further action, if need be," the PJA said.

The PJA, an organization of around 900 RTC judges nationwide, said that the attempt to impeach Chief Justice Puno is "a sickening reflection of how low 'power-hungry' individuals would go in order to put [the chief magistrate] in a bad light and promote their 'sinister agenda'."

Another group composed of judges and employees of the Manila RTC dismissed the accusation against Puno as “unfounded and baseless."

"We extol the Honorable Chief Justice in his efforts to cleanse the Judiciary, and we urge the citizenry to support him in this endeavor," the Manila RTC group manifesto stated.

From the southern part of Metro Manila, the Las Piñas City Judges Association echoed the sentiments of the PJA that Chief Justice Puno should be spared from partisan manipulations.

The group described the alleged ouster move as among the “scandalous efforts… being exerted by seemingly ill-minded individuals to promote their political agenda at the expense of every democratic institution in the country."

It vowed to take all legal steps to ensure that its support to Puno would be put into action if the need arises.

Aside from the expressions of support, Puno was visited by "Running Priest" Fr. Robert Reyes on Wednesday.

Reyes prayed for Puno at the chambers of the chief justice.

Reyes was with the farmers' group Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Lokal na Organisasyon ng Mamamayan sa Kanayunan-Southern Tagalog (UNORKA-Southern Tagalog), one of the multisectoral groups which manifested support for Puno.

The group also presented Puno with a letter written in Filipino expressing their full and unwavering support for him. - MANews.TV