Constitutional crisis deepens

Attempts to defuse a crisis over the impeachment of the Philippines' top judge suffered a setback yesterday as President Gloria Arroyo said her efforts at a compromise were not succeeding.

Tensions have been high for the past week after a group of lawmakers moved to oust Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, raising fears of restiveness as the Philippines gears up for an election next May.

"I have tried a common solution but it is meeting obstacles," Arroyo said after revealing details of proposals she had made for ending the stand-off. She gave no details but some lawmakers have insisted on pursuing the case to a Senate trial.

In her proposal, Arroyo urged the House of Representatives to withdraw the impeachment complaint against Davide and asked the chief justice's office to cooperate with a state auditing agency.

Lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint alleged that Davide misused public funds, although many view the move as a political power play ahead of the May elections.

The proposal also calls for the complaint against Davide to be returned to the House committee on justice, instead of moving on to a Senate trial that would raise the chances of a constitutional clash between the legislature and judiciary.

Legal luminaries yesterday debated on the constitutionality and the lack of merit of the impeachment bid at the House of Representatives against Davide.

Earlier, Arroyo admitted having hosted a dinner between Davide and House Speaker Jose de Venecia late Tuesday to pave the way for a "constitutional reconciliation" and stop the deepening rift between the legislative and the judiciary.

"She gave them a draft of her proposed covenant. She believes it can pave the way for a win-win solution to avert the widening rift" said Ignacio Bunye, the presidential spokesman.

"The president's bottom-line is the people's welfare," explained Bunye, adding that Senate President Franklin Drilon was also given a copy of Arroyo's covenant which called for the strengthening of the country's democratic institutions for the sake of peace and people's welfare.

After the dinner, Davide ordered the Supreme Court's Fiscal Management and Budget Office to open up the records of the judicial development fund, including its savings, to erase allegations of misuse of the fund.

Senator Francis Pangilinan also revealed that he had received last March 2002, a detailed record of how Davide has spent the judiciary development fund, which came from increased court's fees.

"Records will show that we have been in possession of the documents for some time. There was no attempt on the part of the Supreme Court to refuse to cooperate," said Pangilinan.

At the same time, as De Venecia consulted with members of the House of Representatives, regarding Arroyo's proposals, 13 members of the ruling party withdrew their signature from the impeachment bid, leaving only 67 lawmakers (who belong to the National People Coalition) as signatories.

Technically, this has paralyzed efforts to elevate the impeachment issue to the senate. But critics warned the 13 Congressmen could be accused of committing perjury for having changed their mind.

Unfazed, Congressman William Fuentebella, one of the authors of the impeachment proceedings, vowed to elevate impeachment case to the Senate at the reopening of Congress on November 10. He did not give more details.

At the Supreme Court, the pro-Davide faction was represented by prestigious personalities including former Senate President Jovito Salonga and former Solicitor General Frank Chavez.

"We are here to say that the House of Representatives did not follow proper rules in its impeachment proceeding," said Chavez.

Meanwhile, middle class and progressive-leftist supporters joined forces and accused food tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco, including top opposition leaders, as the "silent and cruel power" behind the impeachment of Davide.

"Billions of pesos and political turfs are at stake in this impeachment case. It has become a personal issue against the Chief Justice because he has led the Supreme Court justices to act on cases of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his business associate Eduardo Cojuangco," said Ricardo Reyes, chairperson of Akbayan, a non government organisation.