Supreme Court's inaction on EO 2 brings leadership vacuum among Pinoy Hajj pilgrims

MANILA, Philippines – There is now a leadership vacuum among Filipino Muslims going on their Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia after the Supreme Court (SC) deferred the ruling over the appointment of the head of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).

The SC did not act on a bid of the administration to lift the Court’s order last month temporarily stopping the implementation on former NCMF Secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman of Executive Order 2 that was issued by President Aquino to revoke the alleged midnight appointments made by then outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Lucman had questioned EO 2 before the Supreme Court.

“The Court does not see any compelling reason to act on the motion of government at this time,” court administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez told The STAR.

The Palace, through the Office of the Solicitor General, had earlier asked the SC to act on its very urgent motion even during recess of the Court’s sessions because the status quo ante (SQA) order supposedly causes “unnecessary delay” in the departure of pilgrims to the Hajj, which already started last Nov. 11.

With the SQA, Arroyo’s female appointee Lucman to the NCMF remains as head of the Hajj. 

But the government told the SC that only a male could be sent as Amirul Hajj, or leader of the pilgrimage, based on Section 16 of Republic Act 9997, the law creating NCMF. The government wants new NCMF Secretary Aminoddin Barra, who was appointed by Mr. Aquino to replace Lucman, as head of the Muslim Filipino pilgrims going to the Hajj in Mecca to comply with the requirement. Administration officials said the Amirul Hajj is the leader of the Filipino Muslim pilgrims. The law said that the secretary of the NCMF should be appointed as the Amirul Hajj. Per tradition and per Muslim law, the Amirul Hajj should be male. 

“That is why it’s called Amir. If it is a woman, it’s referred to as Amirata,” a Palace official earlier said, adding the appointment of Barra does not violate the SQA issued by the SC on Lucman’s appointment.

Asked who then should be sent to Mecca as head of the pilgrimage, Marquez replied: “That is up to them (NCMF).”

Solicitor General Joel Cadiz filed a seven-page second very urgent supplemental motion last Oct. 21 explaining to the Court that the resolution of their motion is crucial since it would determine who would be sent as Amirul Hajj.

“The prompt resolution of the pending motions to lift the Status Quo Order will resolve the issue as to who shall be appointed Amirul Hajj and to enable the Hajj to proceed without unnecessary delay. “Ultimately, this will redound to the benefit of Filipino Muslims, particularly the pilgrims who will be going to Mecca,” he argued. The OSG sees a problem in the Hajj because the SQA order issued by the Court in effect sends Lucman as head of the pilgrimage.

Cadiz said this should not be allowed because Lucman, being a woman, is not allowed under the law to serve as Amirul Hajj.

The Court has been in recess from Oct. 25 up to next week. But Chief Justice Renato Corona has the prerogative to act on motions or call for special sessions even during recess.

The Palace had questioned Lucman’s appointment, which is allegedly illegal from the start given the late receipt by the Malacañang Records Office (MRO) of her appointment.

Records showed that the appointment letter was received by the office of the executive secretary only on May 4, 2010 and that there is no date as to when such appointment was released by the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Cadiz also cited the discrepancy on the barcodes found on the appointment papers not only of Lucman but of the other appointees as well.

A bar code is a series of lines of various widths that is a representation of information, which is read by a bar code reader.

The Office of the President uses the bar code system to authenticate documents issued by the office and to track the status of documents.

“For the multitude of appointments made by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in March 2010, there are discrepancies in the bar codes of the appointment papers, such that there are appointment papers of appointees who are supposedly appointed on the same date but whose bar code numbers are not in series, or are very far apart,” the OSG said.

Lucman’s case, particularly OSG’s motion, was tackled during SC’s full-court session last Tuesday, but magistrates opted not to lift the SQA order and instead seek comment from petitioner.

The SQA order issued by the Court on Lucman’s case created an apparent conflict between the judiciary and the executive branch of government, with President Aquino himself accusing the Court of stalling his reform programs, fearing the order would have “far-reaching consequences” including “chaos and paralysis in the executive branch.”

Several other midnight appointees have also questioned EO 2 before the SC. 

The complaining appointees include Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo de Castro of the Department of Justice, Director Eddie Tamondong of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, State Solicitor Cheloy Garafil of the Office of the Solicitor General, Commissioner Francisca Rosquita of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Quezon City Prosecutor Dindo Venturanza, and former Philippine National Railways general manager Manuel Andal.