Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Associate JusticesSupreme Court, Manila
Subject: Query on the Election of Senators Trillanes, Honasan and Estrada
Your Honors:
I write as a lawyer and citizen with the duty to uphold the Rule of Law under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
The undisputed election of Senators Trillanes, Honasan and Estrada appears to raise an important legal question, that is:
WHEN THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES ELECT A SENATORIAL CANDIDATE WITH PENDING CRIMINAL AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE CASES, DO THE PUBLIC OFFICES HEARING OR PROSECUTING THOSE CASES CONTINUE TO HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THE SAME?
It is respectfully submitted the said public offices are ipso facto OUSTED OF THEIR JURISDICTION over the pending cases. Why?
1. No public office has authority to defeat the sovereign will. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them (Section 1, Article 2, Philippine Constitution). Therefore, the derivative authority of government must necessarily yield to the original authority of the people. It would be absurd to allow the will of the servant to rule over the will of his master.
2. The subject Senators are presumed innocent until the contrary is proved (Section 14, paragraph 2, Article III, ibid.). They have not yet been proven guilty. Therefore, they must be presumed innocent. The issue of whether they are criminally or administratively liable had been brought to the attention of the national electorate during their respective election campaigns, and that notwithstanding the widely-publicized claim of government prosecutors that the subject Senators are probably guilty of the charges against them, the voters went to the polls and gave them an undisputed majority of votes over the losing candidates. Due regard for the sovereign will, thus so unmistakably and clearly manifested, would seem to dictate that, in the consideration of the legal issue arising from their election, all possible doubts should be resolved in favor of their unhampered ability TO SERVE AS DULY ELECTED SENATORS OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE. To do otherwise would inevitably lead to a vicious and unpardonable frustration of the verdict of the people.
The subject criminal and administrative cases, being official acts of the executive and judicial departments of the Philippines, are matters within the mandatory judicial notice of the Honorable Court (Section 1, Rule 129, Rules of Court).
Under the law, Supreme Court justices, in the performance of their duties, must: act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith (Article 19, Civil Code).
May I kindly be informed what action, if any, shall be taken by your good offices to do justice to and render what is due the subject Senators and the Filipino people under the foregoing premises?
