Pasay RTC wrong venue for GMA election raps?

POLL LESSONS: Let the high-profile prosecution of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo serve as a lesson to political leaders fired up by the heat of an election campaign.

First lesson is that in rallies, party sessions or miting de avance, leaders should not allow themselves to be carried away by partisan passion. They should not exhort followers to shut out the opposition, to deal them a zero score, or insist on a 12-0 win in the senatorial race.

It is normal, in fact expected, for the titular head of the party, such as then President Arroyo, to rouse up the gathered loyalists with a pep talk and marching orders to deliver a 12-0 victory.

It is unthinkable for the party leader to instruct the troops down the line to fight for a composite 11-1, a 10-2, or a 6-6. Amid wild cheering, they must be told to deliver 12-0, nothing less.

But such brimming enthusiasm could reap for the commander a charge of electoral sabotage - a crime punishable with life imprisonment — as in the case of the then president, now congresswoman, Arroyo.

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OVERHEARD: Second lesson is that when giving the pro-forma 12-0 order, the leader must make sure everybody in the room or convention hall must have been sworn to secrecy. To be overheard giving such orders is risky.

In the case of Ms Arroyo, regional election supervisor Lintang Bedol (who wanted to get off the hook by turning state witness against her) testified that he heard her tell then Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. to secure a 12-0 score in his Maguindanao bailiwick.

But there is a little confusion. While the order to deliver a 12-0 score was allegedly given in a meeting in Malacañang, located in Manila, the criminal case was filed by the Commission on Elections in the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City, another jurisdiction.

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WHY PASAY RTC?: The reason given for Comelec’s choosing Pasay as venue was that the supposed poll sabotage was allegedly committed at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay during the 2007 canvassing of the votes for senators.

It was not clear how Ms Arroyo was able to sneak into the PICC to tamper with the canvassing in full public view, or — with the help of Ampatuan and Bedol — to increase/decrease (dagdag-bawas) the votes to favor administration senatorial candidates.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brilliantes, who has lawyered for several senatorial candidates, may be able to explain during the trial (assuming it will proceed) how the trio of Arroyo, Ampatuan and Bedol pulled off at the PICC one of the biggest electoral heists in Philippine history.

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UNCONSTITUTIONAL: As if that is not complicated enough, here comes lawyer Alan F. Paguia with a brief arguing that the Election Sabotage Law (RA 9369), under which Arroyo and the two other former public officers were charged, is unconstitutional.

Paguia argues that RA 9369 must be struck down because it violates the (a) equal protection clause due to unreasonable classification, and (b) constitutional jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

He says RA 9369’s placing the crime of electoral sabotage under the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court runs against the Constitution. (According to the lawyers of Ms Arroyo, the correct venue is the Sandiganbayan.)

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SANDIGANBAYAN: Paguia points out that the 1973 Constitution mandated the Batasang Pambansa to create the Sandiganbayan vested with “jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and such other offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations, in relation to their office as may be determined by law” (Sec. 5, Art. XIII).

Then the 1987 Constitution provides that the same Sandiganbayan “shall continue to function and exercise its jurisdiction as now or hereafter may be provided by law” (Sec. 4, Art. XI).

Paguia says the constitutional jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan covers (1) criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices, and (2) such other offenses committed by public officers and employees in relation to their office as may be determined by law.

He adds that what “may be determined by law” are those other offenses committed by public officers and employees in relation to their office, such as electoral sabotage.

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AMENDING CHARTER: Paguia says the legislature cannot vest unilaterally on the Regional Trial Court jurisdiction over electoral sabotage because to do so would amount to amending the constitutional jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

“The exercise of ordinary legislative authority which resulted in the passage of the Electoral Sabotage Law is not a valid mode of amending the Constitution,” he says.

The enumeration of the modes of amending the Constitution includes only (a) Constitutional Convention, (b) Constituent Assembly, and (c) People’s Initiative. As the maxim goes, what is not included is excluded.

Striking down as unconstitutional the Election Sabotage Law, or at least its provision on the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court, could result in the throwing out of the RTC case against Arroyo et al. and the quashing of the arrest warrants issued against the accused.

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LEE AS ENVOY: Sen. Serge Osmeña may want to rethink his somewhat rough handling during a session of the Commission on Appointments of businessman and civic leader Domingo Lee as ambassador-designate to China.

Lee should not be derided for not being as good in English as some senators but he is very fluent in Mandarin and, as shown in his backdoor diplomacy and his quiet involvement in presidential visits to Beijing, is able to produce results without fanfare.

At 76, Lee may not be as sprite as Osmeña but in dealing with Chinese leaders who are generally seniors, Lee’s maturity will be an asset. With the aid of his network in the Chinese community he has helped many Filipinos in distress on the mainland.

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