1st impeachment of SC jurist marks House’s turbulent 2003

The House of Representatives was pilloried in 2003 for nearly pushing the country’s democracy to the brink, only to redeem itself at the last minute and emerge the more productive chamber of the 13th Congress.

Two landmark measures for overseas Filipinos — the Absentee Balloting Act and the Dual Citizenship Act — were passed by the House and enacted into laws.

The chamber also passed the E-Procurement Act designed to stamp out pervasive corruption through transparency in all government transactions, and the Barangay Micro-business enterprises, a measure that could boost micro-business in the countryside.

When the third regular session of Congress adjourned for the Christmas holidays, the House had already acted on 1,087 bills, 170 of them national in scope. They all await long-delayed action by the Senate.

This legislative paralysis prompted 186 congressmen led by Speaker Jose de Venecia to pass a resolution for the convening of a constituent assembly of both chambers of Congress to amend the 1987 Constitution to shift from a presidential to a unicameral parliamentary system with a fixed transition to a federal form of government.

The unicameral parliamentary system, proponents said, would not only save the government billions of pesos annually but also hasten delivery of services and laws to the people since legislation would not be bogged down by two warring chambers of Congress.

But senators, fearing the abolition of their chamber and diminished hopes to seek higher office, continue to sit on the resolution.

The House also made history when United States President George W. Bush addressed a joint session of Congress at the Batasan complex, the first time in more than 40 years by a US head of state, thanks mostly to a political coup by De Venecia.

In his address, Bush reaffirmed the close ties between the two countries, calling the Philippines "America’s oldest ally in Asia and close friend of the world."

However, what most riveted the nation was the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. by more than one-third of House members, led by members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition and the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

Coming shortly after the Bush visit, the impeachment move plunged the nation into a constitutional crisis.

The complainants alleged that Davide misused the multimillion-peso Judiciary Development Fund, and pushed for the chief justice’s trial before the Senate. The Senate, however, refused to touch the complaint, saying the House must fix up its own mess first.

Clearly, the Davide episode saw the House divided, as the anti-impeachment bloc rallied the forces of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party and some party-list groups.

De Venecia tried to broker what he called "a principled solution among equals," where contending parties would acknowledge the oversight functions of Congress and the fiscal independence of the judiciary.

But even the Speaker’s persistent efforts were shot down by hardliners from both sides, as the House failed to avert a high court ruling on several petitions questioning the constitutionality of the second of two impeachment complaints filed against Davide within three months of each other.

In a bind, more than 80 congressmen-complainants tried to pressure De Venecia to transmit the complaint to the Senate and force trial. At the same time, following a suit from anti-impeachment lawmakers, the Supreme Court declared invalid the House rules governing impeachment complaints.

In a political masterstroke, De Venecia during the turbulent Nov. 10 session ruled he would abide by the Supreme Court decision even if it would mean his ouster as speaker, if only to "reaffirm the rule of law, the magnificence of democracy" and avert a possible coup d’etat.

The ruling was upheld by a vote of 115-77 during that same session that lasted until 5 a.m. the next day.

De Venecia’s fateful decision redefined his image from traditional politician to a protector of democracy, prompting lawmakers to call him "a speaker of the Filipino people."

"Faith in God and in ourselves helped us overcome this crisis," he said shortly after the Nov. 10 session.

To make up for lost time, the House rushed the approval of the proposed P864.8 billion budget last Dec. 17.

In other legislative matters, 14 bills are pending in the bicameral conference committee, while 18 measures are awaiting presidential action.

On the other hand, there are 54 Senate-initiated and approved bills transmitted to the House, nine of which are still pending in the chamber, 11 in the bicameral conference committee, three await action by President Arroyo and 31 have been enacted into law.