Justice Noel Tijam on the meaning of “All Members of the Senate,” judicial intervention, and protecting fellow senators
Retired Supreme Court Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam called on senator-judges to refrain from repeatedly bringing before the Supreme Court disputes concerning the interpretation of the phrase “All Members of the Senate” in impeachment proceedings.
According to him, the Supreme Court already has thousands of important cases that must be resolved within prescribed periods. Rather than adding matters that, in his view, can be resolved through the clear provisions of the Constitution, he said the time and responsibilities of the country’s highest court should be respected.
𝗔𝗟𝗟 “𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘” 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝟮𝟰 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦
For Justice Tijam, the provision is clear and unambiguous. According to his interpretation, “all members of the Senate” refers to all 24 senators.
He maintained that this interpretation is consistent with his reading of the records and journals of the Constitutional Commission and with the constitutional provision that was subsequently ratified by the Filipino people through a plebiscite.
For this reason, he believes there is no need to narrow or alter the meaning of the provision.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦
Justice Tijam also reminded the senator-judges that the Supreme Court’s principal responsibility is to resolve legal controversies that properly fall within the jurisdiction of the judiciary.
In his view, the Court’s time should not be unnecessarily consumed by controversies arising from political conflict and rivalry.
His appeal was direct: do not add unnecessarily to the Supreme Court’s burden or further contribute to the frustration of the Filipino people.
𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦
Justice Tijam also called on the senator-judges to protect the Senate as an institution and respect the rights of their fellow senators.
According to him, fellow senators should not be treated as enemies or simply excluded from participating in the proceedings.
He also emphasized the rights of the voters who elected them. In his view, excluding an elected senator from participating may also affect the representation of the citizens who voted for that senator.
𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧?
Justice Tijam questioned why the Supreme Court’s interpretation should still be sought for language that he considers clear.
He noted that standard legal and English references—such as the Oxford English Dictionary, Black’s Law Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and Roget’s Thesaurus—could be consulted alongside the journals of the Constitutional Commission in understanding the meaning of the provision.
In closing, he called on the senator-judges to protect the Senate as an institution, respect their fellow senators, and avoid unnecessarily drawing the Supreme Court into political disputes.
For Justice Tijam, the language of the Constitution is already clear. The issue now is how it should be implemented in accordance with the law, proper procedure, and accountability to the Filipino people.
Rather than resorting to personal attacks against senators, the public can examine their votes, arguments, legal grounds, and decisions throughout the proceedings.
𝗛𝗨𝗪𝗔𝗚 𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔 𝗦𝗔 𝗠𝗚𝗔 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗞𝗔
Justice Noel Tijam tungkol sa kahulugan ng “All Members of the Senate,” pakikialam ng hudikatura, at pagprotekta sa kapwa senador
Nanawagan si retired Supreme Court Justice Noel Gimenez Tijam sa mga senator-judge na huwag nang paulit-ulit na dalhin sa Korte Suprema ang usapin tungkol sa interpretasyon ng katagang “All Members of the Senate” sa mga impeachment proceeding.
Ayon sa kanya, libo-libong mahahalagang kaso na ang kailangang resolbahin ng Korte Suprema sa loob ng mga itinakdang panahon. Sa halip na madagdagan pa ng mga usaping maaaring resolbahin batay sa malinaw na probisyon ng Konstitusyon, sinabi niyang dapat igalang ang oras at tungkulin ng pinakamataas na hukuman.
𝗔𝗡𝗚 “𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘” 𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗞𝗢𝗬 𝗦𝗔 𝗟𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗡𝗚 𝟮𝟰 𝗡𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗥
Para kay Justice Tijam, malinaw at walang kalabuan ang nasabing probisyon. Ang “all members of the Senate,” ayon sa kanyang interpretasyon, ay tumutukoy sa lahat ng 24 na senador.
Iginiit niyang naaayon ito sa kanyang pagbasa sa mga rekord at journal ng Constitutional Commission at sa probisyong kalaunan ay pinagtibay ng sambayanang Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng plebisito.
Dahil dito, para sa kanya, hindi na kinakailangang paliitin o baguhin pa ang kahulugan ng naturang probisyon.
𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔 𝗔𝗬 𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜 𝗗𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗔 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗞𝗔
Pinaalalahanan din ni Justice Tijam ang mga senator-judge na ang pangunahing tungkulin ng Korte Suprema ay resolbahin ang mga usaping legal na nararapat dinggin ng hudikatura.
Sa kanyang pananaw, hindi dapat masayang ang oras ng Korte sa mga kontrobersiyang nagmumula lamang sa tunggalian at bangayang pampulitika.
Direkta ang kanyang panawagan: huwag nang dagdagan ang pasanin ng Korte Suprema at huwag nang palalain ang pagkadismaya ng sambayanang Pilipino.
𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗞𝗧𝗔𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗢 𝗔𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗚𝗔 𝗞𝗔𝗣𝗪𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗥
Nanawagan din si Justice Tijam sa mga senator-judge na pangalagaan ang Senado bilang isang institusyon at igalang ang karapatan ng kanilang mga kapwa senador.
Ayon sa kanya, hindi dapat ituring na kalaban ang mga kapwa senador o basta alisin ang kanilang partisipasyon sa proseso.
Binigyang-diin din niya ang karapatan ng mga botanteng naghalal sa kanila. Para sa kanya, ang hindi pagpapalahok sa isang halal na senador ay maaari ring makaapekto sa representasyon ng mga mamamayang bumoto sa senador na iyon.
𝗕𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗧 𝗞𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗔 𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔?
Kinuwestiyon ni Justice Tijam kung bakit kailangan pang hingin ang interpretasyon ng Korte Suprema sa mga salitang para sa kanya ay malinaw na.
Binanggit niya na maaaring tingnan ang mga karaniwang legal at English reference gaya ng Oxford English Dictionary, Black’s Law Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary at Roget’s Thesaurus, kasama ang mga journal ng Constitutional Commission, upang maunawaan ang kahulugan ng probisyon.
Sa huli, nanawagan siya sa mga senator-judge na pangalagaan ang Senado bilang institusyon, igalang ang kanilang mga kapwa senador, at huwag nang gawing bahagi ang Korte Suprema ng hindi kinakailangang bangayang pampulitika.
Para kay Justice Tijam, malinaw na ang nakasaad sa Konstitusyon. Ang hamon ngayon ay kung paano ito ipatutupad nang naaayon sa batas, proseso, at pananagutan sa sambayanang Pilipino.
Sa halip na personal na insulto laban sa mga senador, mas mahalagang suriin ng publiko ang kanilang mga boto, argumento, legal na batayan, at mga desisyong ginagawa nila sa prosesong ito.
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